Fylde Bus Blog

Olympian 366 Departs

2012-03-02T14:48:00.000Z

Olympian 366 has departed for scrap today, after withdrawal back in April 2010.

More Manx Trident News

2012-03-02T12:32:00.001Z

347 is confirmed as the former IOM 52 as seen in this photo at Bus and Coach world, retaining its Manx plate 347. Sisters 72-74 were also noted under initial preparation: Ex IOM 72, Ex IOM 73; Ex IOM 74. All photos are in Gregg Collins's photostream. 348 is therefore expected to be the former 49.

No	Reg	IOM No	IOM Reg	Chassis No	Body No	Status
343	H1FBT	53	EMN53Y	21067	34305	In Service Dec 11
344	E11BTS	50	EMN50Y	21055	34303	In Service Mar 12
345	E12BTS	48	EMN50Y	21045	34301	In Service Mar 12
346	E13BTS	51	EMN51Y	21066	34304	In Service Mar 12
347	tbc	52	EMN52Y	21068	34306	Repainted
348	tbc	49	EMN49Y	21046	34302	Repainted
tbc	tbc	71	MAN93F	31303	36802	under overhaul
tbc	tbc	75	GMN324F	31308	36805	under overhaul
tbc	tbc	74	FMN540E	31307	36804	under overhaul
tbc	tbc	72	FMN158E	31299	36801	under overhaul
tbc	tbc	73	FMN158E	31304	36803	under overhaul

Manxmen ready for the off

2012-02-29T16:29:00.001Z

Tridents 344-346 (E11-13BTS), the former Bus Vannin 50, 48 and 51, are now taxed and ready for service from tomorrow, March 1. At Blackburn, 347 is visible in the yard, fully pained along with the last three deliveries, Bus Vannin 72 to 74 which await work. It is not yet known for sure which Olympians will be withdrawn as a result, but it is understood that the oldest, 365, should be retained for now.

Final Manx Tridents enter the country

2012-02-26T23:02:00.002Z

The last three of the ex Bus Vannin Tridents have now arrived with 74 (FMN540E) noted at Blackburn during the week, with 72 (FMN412E) and 73 (FMN158E) noted at Heysham Port this weekend. This completes the delivery programme which started in July with 53 (EMN53Y) which entered service in December as 343 (H1FBT). The second to arrive was 50 (EMN50Y) in November which reached Blackpool in January as 344 (E11BTS) but has yet to enter service. 48/51 (EMN48/51Y) were December's arrivals and are also in Blackpool awaiting their debut as 345 (E12BTS) and 346 (E13BTS) respectively.

49/52 (EMN49/52Y) are understood to have arrived in January and will be the next to be delivered to Blackpool. February has seen all of 71-75 arrive with 71 and 75 delivered to Blackburn first.

February Scenes

2012-02-25T00:25:00.002Z

February has been something of a quiet month. So far the ex Bus Vannin Dennis Tridents have failed to make an appearance and the Olympian fleet remains active. The only negative development is the disposal of heavily stripped 406 for scrap today - it had been withdrawn in November with accident damage. It is the third of the ten Trent Olympians to be scrapped and has gone to Parton's the Barnsley breaker. Also in Yorkshire is former Blackpool Solo 266 now running with Centrebus in Huddersfield, still in Holmeswood livery but with its original registration back in place having briefly carried R5HWD with its previous owner. Sister 265 is also there (joining 262/4 purchased last year) while 263 is now B8WER with associated Bower fleet (who also has 261).

Excel 213, one of the last few in Line 7 colours was Friday's single decker on route 2/2C. It is seen here turning from Market Street into Church Street to reach Corporation Street terminus

215 - the last Excel to receive Line 7 colours is back on its former regular home leaving Bank Hey Street for Lytham on Friday

The six Line 3 Solos remain intact for now as Line 5 has been virtually eradicated. 2004 vintage 258 turns onto the Prom at New Bonny Street

Sister bus 259 poses under the imposing Town Hall annex - at the recently relocated terminus of route 17

2008 Solo 296 on route 5 at Bank Hey Street

Ex Blue Triangle Trident 338 swings onto Market Street in Talbot Square which is currently being remodelled.

Trident 317 retains its original pool livery and puts in a duty on Promenade service 1

Happy 30th Birthday 365

2012-02-18T20:55:00.000Z

Newly arrived 365 with 367 behind on 2 November 1986. Blackpool blinds have been fitted but the buses have yet to see use. The eclectic selection of vehicles includes a withdrawn Swift (569 or 584), former PW bus 334, also now withdrawn and OMO tram 4.

February 1982 saw the registration of West Yorkshire PTE 5005 UWW5X - one of a batch of 20 Roe bodied Olympians which entered service in March. 5005 made its debut from the PTE's Bradford Hall Ings depot on 11 March where it operated until October 1986 and a move to Leeds prior to premature withdrawal at deregulation. Yorkshire Rider - the successor to the PTE's bus operations declined to take on some of the more modern vehicles due to the payment conditions associate with them.

5005 along with sisters 5011 and 5015 were quickly snapped up by Blackpool Transport who needed them to replace three Atlanteans destroyed by fire at the beginning of October. They were collected on 31 October and became 365-367. 5005, now 365 entered service in mid November still wearing the PTE's green and cream livery. 365 was the last of the trio to receive the newly introduced green/cream fleet livery style in April 1987. It settled back into regular service across the spectrum of double deck routes including the 2 (Bispham to Poulton), 6 (Grange Park to Mereside), 9 (Blackpool-Cleveleys), 10 (Blackpool-Midgeland Road), 11C (Blackpool-St. Annes), 14 (Blackpool-Fleetwood) and 22/22A (Cleveleys-Lytham).

365 leaves Talbot Road Bus Station on route 25 in October 1987 (Donald MacRae)

August 1988 saw a full rear end advert applied for Dixons Fiat dealership which lasted until August 1990 when the bus received a full repaint. A further repaint in October 1993 saw the bus receive black window surrounds on the same livery and in March 1996 it receive the new livery of cream with green skirt and roof band.

May 1996 saw 365 and its sisters move to Squires Gate Depot, still for a few more weeks operating under the Fylde identity and they became regulars on the 11/11A services. With Deltas taking over the 11/11A the Olympians dropped down to school duties. Squires Gate closed in April 1999 and 365's last duty from there was on 24 March shortly before the end of school terms. It resumed life from Rigby Road and was treated to another repaint in November 1999 - its last in green and cream.

July 2007 and 365 by now in its second coat of orange and yellow awaits custom on school service 570 from Lytham St. Bedes to St. Annes Spring Gardens

August 2000 saw 365 placed in store as surplus to requirements following changes to school services, but it returned to use in February 2001 as several Deltas were taken out of use for repaints prior to the Metro launch. The Olympians were now increasingly seen on local services, particularly summer route 1. August 2003 saw 365 gain the orange and yellow Line 1 livery and it settled into summer duties on the 1 and year round school work. The upgrade of the 1 to year round service with some Dennis Tridents, reduced 365's service appearances but it was treated to its final repaint, again in orange/yellow in December 2006 - a nearly even 3 year repaint interval having been treated in 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2006.

365 and 366 were taken out of use on 28 April 2010 joining earlier withdrawal 367 in store. Both went to Marton, but 365 was to get a last hurrah, returning to service on 8 September 2011 after over 16 months in store. It is likely to be an early casualty of the impending entry into service of the Manx Tridents, but it if doesn't see its 30th birthday on 11 March 2012 in service (it is taxed until 29 Feb), at least it has survived until the anniversary of its licensing.

365 has, so far, accrued 25 years and 4 months service life at Blackpool (although interrupted by storage) and is second only to Atlantean 353 which lasted a further six months.

A surprising number of Blackpool buses have reached the age of 30 with the company - the others are:

Routemasters 521-531 and 533 were all over 30 years old when last used - and 534 passed this landmark after withdrawal
Open Top Atlantean 451 was withdrawn in late 1996 in its 32nd year
Open Top PD2 532 was over 31 when sold in 1999
Trainers 907 and 916 had passed their 30th birthday after retirement from passenger service
Sister 366 is likely to pass its 30th birthday in store (it was registered on 2 March 1982)
Lion 934 was a mere 71 years old when it was sold to LTT and by virtue of a duty on route 21 in August 1996 is the oldest bus (at 59 yrs 10 months) to run in service with Blackpool Transport!

301 into paint and livery update

2012-02-18T18:47:00.000Z

Blackpool's first Trident 301

301 has become the latest Trident to visit the paint shop, presumably for a fleet liveried repaint. This will be the second of the 12 Tridents treated to repaints into Line 14 livery in 2009/10 to receive the new livery following on from accident victim 310. 301 was last repainted in March 2009 while 312, 313, 315-319 have yet to receive a repaint in their 8 to 9 year lives in Blackpool. Solo 256 left paintshop on Friday 10th.

Livery Update:
75x New fleet livery (7x Excels 210/1/4, 221/2/4/6; 18x Solos 250-7, 284-293; 29x Tridents 301, 310, 322-348; 7x Olympians 368/9, 375-9 14x Volvo B7 520-533)
23 x Metro Black/Yellow (4x Excels 218-220, 223; 11x Solos 273-283; 3x Tridents 317-9; 5x Olympians 370-374)
14 x Line 1 Orange/Yellow (Olympians 365, 402/3, 405, 407/8, 410-417)
10x Line 2 green/yellow (Solos 240-247, 249, 294)
6x Line 3 blue/yellow (Solos 258-260, 295-297)
5x Line 4 Cadbury blue/yellow (Solos 267-269, 271/2)
1x Line 5 Red/yellow (Solo 248)
6x Line 7 Purple/yellow (Excels 212/3, 215-217, 225)
14x Line 14 Green/Yellow (Tridents 302-309, 311-316)

Manx Trident Update

2012-02-14T19:53:00.001Z

Two further Tridents have been observed at Blackburn, still in IOM livery. These are 71 (MAN93F) and 75 (GMN324F). In addition to 344-346 which await entry into service at Rigby Road, another two are understood to be nearing completion as 347/8. These are expected to be 49 EMN49Y and 52 EMN52Y but not necessarily in that order. This leaves 72-74 FMN158/412/540E, still on the Island.

Service Changes 4 March

2012-02-13T13:48:00.001Z

Service 7 will run via Mythop Road once more from 4 March. Here Excel 214 heads to Saltcotes Road along Mythop Road on 7 March 2005

Sunday 4th March sees some minor service changes. The objective appears to be to achieve further efficiencies and a two bus saving has been deduced from the timetables. More interesting is the apparent interworking of services, especially in the evening.

According to the timetables and maps on Traveline, three route changes take place:

Service 7 will now run via Station Road and Mythop Road between Lytham Square and Saltcotes Road
Service 11 will continue from East Beach terminus via Preston Road to Saltcotes Road and return from there to Lytham Hospital and as now via Warton Street to Lytham Square
Service 14 will serve Langdale Road in both directions in Mereside.

It is understood that the 7 and 11 were interwork at Saltcotes Road with a roster of 21 vehicles, saving one on the current allocation. This will bring back memories of Fylde's complex network to Saltcotes Road in the 1970s when buses either ran out via Mythop Road an in via the Hospital or vice versa but usually changed route number at Saltcotes Road. This ended in 1982 when the installation of a mini roundabout allowed buses to turn round in the mouth of Saltcotes Road/Mythop Road junction and Mythop Road itself was no longer served. This was addressed in 1985 with local route 4, and from deregulation by service 165 (Lytham to Preston) which later became the 167 and today's 68. The 7 served Mythop Road from November 2004 until February 2010 when the 68 replaced it.

With the 7, 11 and 68 all serving Saltcotes Road every 15 minutes, this will provide 12 buses per hour from there to Lytham Square.

Also changing are the times on route 1, which is accelerated between Starr Gate and North Pier and will now require seven buses. Unfortunately the evening departures from Fleetwood continue to be exactly the same as those of route 14. The 14 itself has minor timing changes.

Route 9 is also retimed with the Sunday service reduced to every 30 minutes and this appears to interwork with route 7 at Cleveleys Bus Station.

Caution - Driver Under Instruction

2012-02-10T22:39:00.000Z

PD3 516 (later 916) was the longest served driver trainer operating from 1984 to 1999

Driver Training has always been an obviously critical part of a bus operator's activities. Blackpool's first dedicated driver trainer was 1940 built centre entrance Leyland Titan 25 on its retirement from passenger service in August 1956. It continued to be so deployed until withdrawal in December 1962. Its replacement was sister bus 27 - one of three converted to open toppers in 1959 - open top driver trainers being quite uncommon. This lasted until May 1964. It was not replaced with any spare centre entrance PD2 used until the end of 1968 when PD2 270 became a dedicated training bus as number 7 in the service vehicle fleet series. Sister bus 298 joined it in April 1969 as number 9. Both lasted until March 1970.

Centre Entrance bus 222 has a stint as a driver trainer with a "L CAUTION DRIVER UNDER INSTRUCTION" slipboard which featured on permanent driver trainers until 2007

1957 Metro Cammell PD2 307 became the next dedicated training bus in April 1970 but only until the autumn. Sister bus 309 was sold to Lytham St. Annes Corporation for further service but would later serve as its dedicated driver trainer from 1975 to 1982. 307 was replaced by the slightly newer 314 which ran until the end of December 1973. It was replaced by nine year old PD3 378 which was helped out on a part time basis by 330. One of the pioneer PD3 batch 368 joined 378 in March 1976 making two dedicated trainers, both adorned with black and yellow wasp stripes around the destination boxes, redolent of British Rail diesel shunters.

Retired and waiting for their fate, 378 (left) and 368 (right) stand in Blundell Street tram depot

Autumn 1980 saw 368 and 378 stood down and both spent the next winter as static cabins for inspectors at the ends of sections of single line operation on the tramway. After a long period in store they were sold for scrap in 1983. 378 was replaced by later PD3 520 in November 1980 which featured black and yellow wasp stripes on the entire rear end! 521 took over 368's duties but was withdrawn in a shunting accident the following year. 532 became its eventual replacement in January 1983.

520 crosses the South Fylde Line at Moss Side. Note that this had painted Training Vehicle lettering on the destination glass - previous buses had it painted onto the blinds

December 1984 saw 516 taken out of use and converted to a driver trainer, like 520 featuring an enclosed rear platform with door and instructors brake valve. The internal bulkhead window was removed and the space widened to allow communication between instructor and driver. 520 was retired in December 1986 and 532 followed soon after - unusually returning to passenger service after an overhaul. This left 516 as the sole trainer.

After deregulation many new drivers were trained initially on minibuses and received a restricted license which could later be upgraded to a full license. This allowed PD3 516 to pass on loan to Cumberland in Carlisle from July to October 1989 and it was treated to a full repaint in all-over cream by the end of the year. Winter 1990/1 saw a period of further loan this time to London Borough of Kingston

507 had been kept as a keepsake after the withdrawal of the PD3s in 1988 and saw limited use. In March 1990 it went on loan to Merseybus for driver training and saw training use in Blackpool in winter 1991 (to cover for 516 with open topper 532 helping out too) and again from July 1993 for a short period. March 1995 saw it converted to a permanent driver trainer with instructors brake valve and platform doors fitted. That winter saw 916 suffer an engine failure so it received a modified O.680 engine from an Atlantean in place of its usual O.600. In August 1996 507 and 516 were renumbered 907/916 in the new service vehicle fleet series and 907 saw periodic use as a second trainer to support 916 when two schools were required. 907 It was officially withdrawn in August, though had seen little use in recent months and 916 saw its last training duties that month.

Atlantean 322 as 922, still with slipboard but also now promoting recruitment

September 1999 saw Atlanteans 322 and 323 debut as driver trainers renumbered 922/3. Both retained fleet livery, but 923 was later repainted all cream in January 2001. They were later stripped of upper deck glass as spares for other buses which resulted in an unusual appearance. 923 was withdrawn in December 2006 with 922 following in February 2007. Two further Atlanteans had been converted to driver trainers in December 1995 to train locally recruited staff for London General who would then be relocated to the capital to address a driver shortage. This lasted until September 1996 for 332 and January 1997 for 333.

Showing how Atlanteans might have looked in the original PD3 livery, 923 on familiarisation duty on a car park next to Blackpool South Station.

With a requirement for ABS braking, the Atlanteans were replaced by two specially adapted Deltas 129/30 as 969/70 from February 2007. Sister bus 128 was later similarly modified for Preston Bus to whom it was sold.

Two weeks in the School
In January 1999 I followed in the footstep of countless other Blackpool Transport trainer drivers by spending two weeks learning to driver a PD3. After a spell as a conductor on the trams during the summer and route 14/14A in the winter (when I also sat my theory test), my two weeks in the bus school started in early January. A half day of class room training was followed by familiarisation with gears and vehicle size on the car parks next to Blackpool Football Club and we then hit the road. Two trainees formed each school and split wheel time. Exercises include up and down gear change sequences, including mastering crash on 1st and 2nd gears. Hill starts and a slalom like reversing exercise completed the training programme. On the Friday of week one we headed to Southport for the day - our instructor perhaps board of the various roadside cafes that we stopped at on our jollies around the Fylde. Officially we went to get out of the way of the previous school who were taking their tests on 907. Alas as the first driver left to return to depot, the engine failed spectacularly and we were summoned back to the depot asap, resulting in a direct and enjoyable run back from Southport. 907 soon joined us on the back of a tow truck with the trainee driver steering! We spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to work electronic ticket machines while our bus was otherwise engaged.

Former Blackpool 309 with Fylde as "T74" as a new driver tackles the reversing manoeuvre in their depot yard.

Week 2 saw us practise the usual training route, with the proviso that our examiner need not follow it! Come the Friday I was second to take my test and the Chief Inspector introduced himself as 'David for the day, back to Chief tomorrow'. We started with the reverse into the coned area in the depot yard, before setting off along the Promenade including a down gear exercise dropping into first just outside the thankfully deserted Pleasure Beach. We carried on to Starr Gate and along Clifton Drive and turned right coming to a halt on Harrowside bridge for the hill start and 'snatch' gear change. The test route was duly followed up Highfield Road, onto Midgeland Road and School Road, but rather than turning right onto the A583, I was instructed to turn left. We headed for the M55 where 916 ran at a steady 50mph (as it was required to do as a training bus at that time) to junction 3. When then headed back via Wrea Green and the winding country roads back to Depot via A583 and Yeadon Way before parking up in the yard to receive the verdict - thankfully a pass. An hour or so with a Metrorider on familiarisation completed the training period. Monday and Tuesday saw route training on minibus routes and Wednesday saw me let loose alone on Blackpool's public.

Delta 970 ex 130 is one of the two current training vehicles painted in reverse Metro style livery with extensive recruitment lettering, but no warning slipboard!

Retirement as Trainers
Several Blackpool buses passed into later ownership as driver trainers. First was PD2 332 which served with Bolton & Salford District Transport Training 1975-1981. Several PD3s followed with 399 sold to Wallace of London in 1983, lasting until 1991. 531/4 went to Reeds School of Motoring of Hyde and Leeds in November 1982 with 531 lasting until 1987 and 534 in 1991.

The withdrawal of the last PD3s in 1988 coincided with changes in legislation that required driver trainers to be at least 9m long and capable of 50mph and Blackpool's PD3s were snapped up, sometimes replacing shorter vehicles. 511/538 went to Toxteth Community Council (later Liverpool Young Drivers in September 1989 lasting until 2000 and 1998 resp, 512/5 went to London & Country at the same time, lasting until December 1991, while 540 went to a driver training school in Middlesex, where it ran until 1993.

Two previously sold PD3s spent brief spells as driver trainers in Liverpool from 1990, 351 with Town & Country Training and 394 with Merseybus. Atlanteans 303 and 475, National 156 and Lancet 597 also saw spells as driver trainers with private schools.

PD3 516 in preservation as a driver trainer.

Several vintage buses owe their survival into preservation to a spell as a driver trainer, including some Blackpool PD3s. 516 is preserved in its driver training condition as a tribute to their after life.

345 and 346 arrive

2012-02-07T22:09:00.000Z

The third and fourth ex Isle of Man Tridents have now arrived from Bus and Coach World as 345/6. Their respective identities have not yet been confirmed though one is EMN48Y and the other EMN51Y.

Another Solo Repaint

2012-02-03T22:04:00.001Z

The eight 2004 Solo to receive its maiden repaint almost eight years since it arrived is 256 which is now in the paint shop. This is the last of the nine delivered for Line 5 in 2004 to lose red/yellow and leaves just 248 of 2008 so attired.

Trident 344 has yet to be registered and should soon be joined by 345/6 which are both nearly ready. One will be former Bus Vannin 48 and the other 51 - though which is which is not yet clear.

And the there were three

2012-02-01T23:31:00.001Z

The third ex Bus Vannin Dennis Trident has been outshopped from Bus and Coach World - 345 was noted fully liveried in their yard on Monday. 343 is back in service after recent attention while 344 is still under preparation.

Meanwhile Solo 257 was observed on route 4 this evening following its repaint into fleet livery.

Solos regroup with Centrebus

2012-01-29T23:29:00.001Z

The six Solos sold in 2011 were split between Centrebus group (261/2/4) and Holmeswood Coaches (263/5/6). Centrebus allocated 261 to its Bowers fleet based at Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, while 262/4 ran in the Huddersfield area. Holmeswood used 263/5/6 on tendered services in the Preston and Blackburn area and registered 266 to R5HWD.

January has seen 263/5/6 join the Centrebus group fleet, with 265 and 266 noted at Waterloo (Huddersfield) depot, the former in white and the latter in Holmeswood colours. 263 has been noted with Bowers carrying cherished plate B8WER.

Meanwhile Trident 306 has been reported as suffering rear end accident damage on Thursday on route 14.

The Marton Route

2012-01-29T00:08:00.000Z

Swift 588 awaits departure on a summers evening from South Pier to Talbot Square following the former Marton tram route

Bus route 26 was the Marton tram route replacement. The tram route opened in May 1901 and ran from Talbot Square via Clifton St, Church St, Whitegate Drive and Waterloo Road and Central Drive to Central Station. In 1902 it was also linked to the Lytham Road route at Royal Oak and onto Station Road for Victoria (now South) Pier. By the 1930s the Marton route comprised three tram services from Talbot Square to Central Station; Talbot Square to Royal Oak/South Pier and Central Station to Royal Oak/South Pier with the timetables co-ordinated on the common section. The Central Drive route closed in 1936 (as did the Talbot Square to Layton service) and the replacement bus services maintained the links running from Layton to Talbot Square then to Central Station and along Central Drive to Waterloo Road. Route 22 turned left to Marton Tram Depot, route 23 turned right to South Pier. This left the Marton tram route as running Talbot Square to Royal Oak or South Pier only at frequencies of every 3 or 4 minutes, with peak extras.
Although the route had been upgraded with modern trams after World War II, it was decided to close the line as the second of three closures between 1961 and 1963. With much fanfare the last trams ran on Sunday 28 October 1962. The previous winter service had dropped to a five minute frequency with a four minute summer frequency.

Bus service 26 started on Monday 29 October 1962 with a six minute service using 8 buses with two extras in the afternoon peak to make a 5 minute service. Evenings and Sundays saw a 9 minute frequency using 5 buses. In the Summer the service ran every 5 minutes except before 8am, after 7pm and all day Sunday. Unlike trams, buses needed turning facilities so the Talbot Square terminus was moved to Corporation Street outside the Town Hall, and all buses now ran to South Pier via Waterloo Road and back via Station Road rather than terminating at Royal Oak.

The regular buses were the Corporations first 30ft long buses - PD3s 351-370 which arrived during the summer and also saw use on service 12. The pioneer PD3s were later supplanted by further new deliveries of the type. Over time the service frequency was thinned - by 1971 the service ran every 8 minutes in the day and 15 in the evening - with extra Summer evening buses.

OMO operation with AEC Swift commenced on Sundays in 1973 and weekdays from 3 March 1975. Extra running time meant that the 8 minute service needed 7 Swifts with four used for the 12 minute evening service. In September the terminus moved to Clifton Street outside Yates Wine Lodge with buses running via Abingdon St and Talbot Road to reach the terminus. October 1976 saw buses from Town diverted via Caunce Street and Grosvenor Street as part of the town's new one way system.

Summer 1982 and 576 displays a slipboard for the promotional Sunday only maximum fare of 25p

Frequency reductions continued - by 1977 the daytime service ran every 10 minutes; by 1979 the evening service every 15 and by 1982 the daytime service had dropped to every 12 minutes.

Double Deckers were commonly allocated to the 26 after deregulation. Most were Atlanteans though the three ex West Yorkshire Olympians including 365 did make appearances

Deregulation in October saw the 26 continue as before but on a 15 minute daytime service (4 buses) and 20 minute evening/Sunday service (3 buses). Fylde introduced a competitive off peak service in August 1987 running every 30 minutes and Blackpool hit back with a tripling of the service to every 5 minutes using brand new Optare City Pacer minibuses with ten required. The evening/Sunday service was increased to every 15 minutes. Fylde soon retreated, but later made a more sustained attack on the Oxford Square to Blackpool section with its Fastlink 4 route.

The City Pacer era started in September 1987 and lasted until 1996. Here 550 and 563 layover outside Yates Wine Lodge on Clifton Street

15 City Pacers were ordered for the new service but, amazingly, only one had been delivered before the conversion date! Five other City Pacers were in stock for the St. Annes Handybus services, two demonstrators were duly purchased and a third hired, while Blackpool borrowed a handful of Ford Transits from Midland Red North. 5 September 1987 was day one of the new service. The nine duties comprised brand new City Pacer 549, existing 560/2-4 the demonstrators (acquired 565/6 and D81NWW) and Ford Transit C41WBF.
In August 1988 the evening service was diverted via the Ice Drome on Watson Road on journeys to South Pier. This lasted until March 1992 when the daytime service frequency was reduced to every 6 minutes. The evening service was re-routed in Blackpool Town Centre to terminate at Cookson Street in May 1994 and in November 1994 was increased to every 12 minutes.

The 26 was briefly associated with the Optare Delta from 1996 to 1998. Here 128 and a sister stand at South Pier in May 1998

Surprisingly in August 1996 the 26 was converted back to 'big bus' operation with 7 Optare Deltas allocated with a seven minute daytime and 15 minute evening service. November saw the terminus move back to Corporation Street after 21 years on Clifton Street.

Metrorider 512 at South Pier terminus (James Millington)

April 1998 saw the daytime frequency drop to every 10 minutes but in December 1998 a batch of new Metroriders converted the service back to high frequency minibus operation. 8 were required to provide a six minute service which proved too ambitious a schedule so in January a 7 minute frequency was adopted. The first day was Monday 7th December and 505 was the first of the 14 new Metroriders to enter service on working 261 the 0624 from South Pier. It was joined by 506, 509, 511, 513, 514 and existing 589 and 592 on the eight duties.

Metrorider 515 in Line 26 green and yellow livery which was adopted by Line 2 in 2002. The livery debuted on 511 in September 2011 and by November all of 511-516 had been treated.

September 1999 saw the 26 terminus move to North Railway Station - the first time BT service buses had used the forecourt. Metro in April 2001 saw the 26 continue but with a slight frequency reduction to every 8 minutes. This lasted until 7 April 2002 when the 26 operated for the last time after nearly 40 years. The following day extended route 2 took-over on a ten minute service (as in 1998 but with minibuses not Deltas). In 2009 frequency fell to every 15 minutes. July 2010 saw the 2 split, with routes 4 and 16 providing replacements along Whitegate Drive with the 4 to Mereside and the 16 following the established Marton route to Royal Oak and then via a convoluted route to Cleveleys. The 4 ran every 20 minutes (hourly eves/Suns) and the 16 half hourly (hourly Saturdays and Sundays) without an evening service. This seemed a drastic reduction given that the evening service had been every 30 minutes previously and every 20 minutes as recently as summer 2009.

Routes 2 and 15 1920s to the 1980s

2012-01-28T18:28:00.000Z

Abingdon Street Bus Stop shows services 2, 2A, 15, 15A and 15C - all (with the 15B) part of the complex group of services which ran along Newton Drive

Part of Blackpool's bus network originated in private hands with William Smith running buses to Bispham, Poulton and in Fleetwood and South Shore. The routes started in the 1920s and included a bus from Talbot Mews Bus Station via Newton Drive to the Plough Inn at Staining from October 1923. This was later extended to Hardhorn and Poulton.

Smith sold out to Blackpool Council (as Smith was a Blackpool Councillor, today this move would probably be controversial!) and BCT progressively absorbed his services. The Poulton via Staining route became BCT route 2 from April 1927 but in September was split to provide two basic hourly services along Newton Drive to Staining Road End with route 2 continuing along Normoss Road, Longhouse Lane and Hardhorn Road to Poulton Market Square and the 15 taking Staining Road End to the Plough.

For about a year in 1933/4 the 2 became a circular, linked across Poulton with route 1 via Castle Gardens and Carleton to Blackpool. A minor route change saw buses leave the Bus Station via Talbot Road, Abingdon Street and Church St rather than the more direct Cookson Street. Route 2 appeared to have the higher profile and surviving accident records show new Leyland Tigers 102-113 as regulars on the 2 in 1935, while the 15 typically used 1928 vintage Lions 55 to 66.

From October 1936 extra short workings ran from Blackpool Bus Station to the brand new Victoria Hospital via Newton Drive displaying route 15A. Neither the 2 or 15 ventured off Newton Drive to the Hospital entrance. This used double deckers from the start and was soon extended from the Bus Station to Layton Station via Dickson Road and Warbreck Hill Road giving a cross town link to the Hospital. From June 1938 a second extra service, the 15B started running as far as Staining Road End and this made a ten minute service over the common sections with the 2 and 15. The 15A evolved as a separate service, though the section to Layton was dropped for the war.

PD2 334 approaches Talbot Road Bus Station to work a 15B working to Staining Road End in 1967

Double deckers were first introduced to the 2 and 15 in 1940 and 1942 saw the reversing point for the 15A at the Hospital gates replaced by a loop via Whinney Heys Road and Whinpark Avenue that is still followed by service buses today. Yet another service variation - the 2A - started in 1947 providing a winter service over route 2 as far as Hardhorn Road corner. With a variety of service numbers and individual timetables which didn't draw attention to the combined headway achieved along Newton Drive - the service pattern was never particularly clear to the casual observer. Analysis of the 1953 timetable reveals the following.

A 10 minute frequency from Bus Station to Staining Road End (just beyond the Borough Boundary) as services 2, 15 and 15B.
Service 2 continued every 40 minutes to Poulton via Hardhorn (into what is now Wyre Borough)
Service 15 turned right every 40 minutes onto Staining Road to Staining Village (in what is now Fylde Borough)
Service 15B terminated at Staining Road End every 20 minutes, buses reversing into Dobson Road to turn round.
On Summer afternoons and evenings the 2 was increase to every 20 minutes, with the extra trips running in tandem with the 15s over the common section.
In the winter an extra 40 minute service ran as the 2A as far as Hardhorn Corner from 1200 to 1900 Monday to Friday and 1000 to 1900 on Saturdays with two extra evening journeys.

On top of all this route 15A ran every 12 minutes from Layton to the Hospital in the winter and every 10 in the summer. The table below shows the afternoon departure pattern from Talbot Road in place in the late 1950s. A basic 5 minute summer service ran formed with either a 2 or 15B between each 15A. The 15 workings ran in tandem with the 2. Winter headways were at least every 10 minutes but with at least 12 per hour but much less even than in the winter.

		Winter 58/9			Summer 59
Time	Route	Destination	Time	Route	Destination
13:01	2	Poulton	13:01	2	Poulton
13:08	15A	Hospital	13:06	15A	Hospital
13:11	15B	Staining Rd End	13:11	15B	Staining Rd End
			13:16	15A	Hospital
13:20	15A	Hospital	13:21	2	Poulton
13:21	15	Staining	13:21	15	Staining
13:25	2	Hardhorn	13:26	15A	Hospital
13:31	15B	Staining Rd End	13:31	15B	Staining Rd End
13:32	15A	Hospital	13:36	15A	Hospital
13:41	2	Poulton	13:41	2	Poulton
13:44	15A	Hospital	13:46	15A	Hospital
13:51	15B	Staining Rd End	13:51	15B	Staining Rd End
13:56	15A	Hospital	13:56	15A	Hospital
14:01	15	Staining	14:01	2	Poulton
14:05	2A	Hardhorn	14:01	15	Staining
14:08	15A	Hospital	14:06	15A	Hospital
14:11	15B	Staining Rd End	14:11	15B	Staining Rd End
14:20	15A	Hospital	14:16	15A	Hospital
14:21	2	Poulton	14:21	2	Poulton
			14:26	15A	Hospital
14:31	15B	Staining Rd End	14:31	15B	Staining Rd End
14:32	15A	Hospital	14:36	15A	Hospital
14:41	15	Staining	14:41	2	Poulton
14:44	15A	Hospital	14:41	15	Staining
14:45	2A	Hardhorn	14:46	15A	Hospital
14:51	15B	Staining Rd End	14:51	15B	Staining Rd End
14:56	15A	Hospital	14:56	15A	Hospital

Minor changes saw an extension of route 15 from Staining Plough to the new Whalley Estate where the buses reversed into Bibby Drive. 1955 saw the 15A extended from Layton Station to Bispham Tram Depot via Bispham Road and Red Bank Road and it was increased to every 10 minutes for most of the day in the summer but still ran every 12 minutes in the winter.

An unusual operation in Summer 1956 was service 1A which ran from Castle Gardens over the 1 and 14 route to Blackpool and then via route 2 to Poulton running every 40 minutes to make a 20 minute frequency to Poulton with service 2 (which remained every 40 minutes). From 1957 the previous pattern with service 2 running every 20 minutes in the summer resumed.

13 August 1983: An elderly clientele clambers aboard Lancet 599 at Poulton Church

Also by 1956 a summer special service 15C was in operation linking Blackpool with the Newton Hall Holiday Camp on Staining Road. This did not appear in public timetables and is believed to run on a limited basis.

The winter service 2A ended after 1959 and the 2 was increase to every 20 minutes from 1200 (1000 on Saturdays). Cut backs began in the 1960s with a reduction in evening and Sunday services from 1963. Residential developments in Poulton and Staining encouraged a simplification and enhancements of the 2 and 15. By Winter 1964 the 2 and 15 provided a 20 minute frequency from 1200-1900 (Winter M-F) and 1000-1900 (Sat and summer Mon-Fri) with a 40 minute service at other times. The 15B now provided a handful of morning trips to supplement the lower frequency of the 2 and 15 and by the end of the decade was no longer listed as a separate route but was still displayed on the bus blinds. 5 buses were required. The 15A was cut back in frequency during the late 1960s with a 12 minute summer and 20 minute winter frequency in place.

In February 1982 the 15/15A were revised again. The 15A no longer served the Zoo - its off peak journeys were diverted to Grange Park Estate (giving a link from there to the Hospital) showing 15B while peak journeys were extended to Staining to replace the short 15 journeys. The sole difference between the 15 and 15A was that only the latter served the Hospital.

Route 15B ran from 1982-1986 providing an off peak link from Grange Park to Victoria Hospital and onto Blackpool and Bispham. 353 runs through Grange Park in 1986.

The 2/2A continued on its 20/30 minute frequency, but the enhanced service was cut back to start at 1515 meaning only four round trips along Highcross Avenue.

National 548 leaves Poulton for Blackpool on route 2 in 1986

Deregulation in 1986 saw a simplification of the pattern with the 2 and 15 co-ordinated once more to make a 15 minute service along Newton Drive (2 every 30 minutes, 2A every hour and 15 every hour) with all buses continuing to Bispham via Devonshire Road (2) or Warbreck Drive (2A/15) replacing routes 7/7A (Bispham Circular). Evening/Sunday services ran every hour as 2A Poulton to Bispham and 2 Blackpool to Bispham only). Extra 2 (Poulton to Blackpool) evening services were provided under contract to Lancashire County Council by Fylde who also ran peak and evening/Sunday journeys on the 15.

Swift 580 leaves Talbot Road Bus Station on route 2A one afternoon in April 1980

21 December 1971 saw route 15A converted to OPO AEC Swifts which terminated at Bispham Clinic rather than the former Tram Depot, but were later extended to terminate at Warbreck Drive/Cavendish Road where buses turned in a triangular junction layout. The 15A now ran every 20 minutes (days) and 30 mins evenings but in the summer extra buses ran every 20 minutes from Hospital to Cornwall Place (near Gynn Square) on weekdays to make a 10 minute service while the Sunday service was doubled to every 15 minutes. The Winter 1971 timetable also saw some weekday afternoon journeys on route 2 diverted via Highcross Road instead of Longhouse Lane passing Baines School. These ran every 40 minutes from 1200-1840.

February 1973 saw the Sunday 2 and 15 reduced to every 48 minutes so they could be operated with one bus each and summer 1973 saw the extra short 15A workings continue to Antrim Road (turning via Warbreck Hill Road/Devonshire Road roundabout). From the winter the 15A dropped to every 24 minutes (3 buses) on weekdays and the even more unusual 36 minute headway evenings and Sundays.

6 May 1974 saw the 2 and 15 converted to OMO as the 15 could now turn via the Nook near Staining Plough - depriving Whalley Estate of its bus service until c1975 when Fylde council completed the construction of the present turning circle near Bibby Drive. Route 2 now ran every 20 minutes in the morning peak and afternoon (one per hour as 2A); every 30 minutes from 9am to 12 noon and again in the evening with a 60 minute Sunday service. The 15 ran 2-3 times per hour in the morning peak, every hour 0900-1200 and every 30 minutes until 1900 then hourly evenings and Sundays. This meant there was now no co-ordination between the 2 and 15 along Newton Drive.

The 2 was a common test bed for demonstrators - here Ipswich Dennis Falcon loads alongside one of Blackpool's traditional bus shelters on Newton Drive.

1977 saw route 15A reduced to every 30 minutes (45 Sundays and no evening service) and it was extended the short distance from Victoria Hospital to Blackpool Zoo. One way systems affected the services with outbound routes diverted via Caunce Street and Grosvenor Street in Blackpool in 1976 while Poulton Square was pedestrianised in the 1970s.

January 1980 saw a merger of routes 15 and 15A which now provided a standard 30 minute frequency service from Cavendish Road (Bispham) to Newton Drive with one per hour to Staining as service 15 and one per hour to the Hospital and Zoo as 15A. Some extra peak hour Blackpool to Staining runs were provided. Atlanteans were usually used, while the 2 retain its single deckers.

Atlantean 336 at the Cavendish Road terminus of the 15/15A in 1980

2 and 15 since Deregulation

2012-01-28T18:14:00.001Z

National 2 542 unloads at Bispham Hotel having arrived from Poulton on the extended 2A on 15 August 1987

Deregulation on 26 October 1986 saw several changes to the Blackpool bus network to ensure it ran on a commercial footing. The Poulton and Staining routes 2, 2A, 15, 15A and 15B were revised with most journeys running across Blackpool to Bispham replacing the Bispham circulars 7/7A.

The 15A and 15B variants were discontinued - except for a single Sunday morning 15A from Bispham to Victoria Hospital which managed to last until the Metro era! Along Newton Drive a basic 15 minute frequency was provided from the Town Centre to Staining Road with the 2 running to Poulton via Hardhorn every 30 minutes; the 2A to Poulton via Highcross hourly and the 15 to Staining also hourly.

Between Blackpool and Bispham the 2 ran via Talbot Road, Devonshire Road and Red Bank Road to terminate at Bispham Hotel (though buses ran onto Cavendish Road to turn). The 2A and 15 ran via Dickson Road, Gynn Square, Warbreck Drive and Red Bank Road to Bispham Library where they turned on the roundabout. They made a 15 minute frequency with service 3 (Mereside to Bispham) over this section. The resulting services were:

2 Poulton - Hardhorn - Newton Drive - Town Centre - Devonshire Road - Bispham Hotel every 30 minutes using 3 double deckers
2A Poulton - Highcross Road - Newton Drive - Town Centre - Gynn Square - Bispham Library every 60 minutes sharing 3 single deckers with the 15
15 Staining - Newton Drive - Hospital - Town Centre - Gynn Square - Bispham Library every 60 minutes sharing 3 single deckers with the 2A.

In the evening Blackpool used two buses to provide an hourly service 2A from Poulton to Bispham where buses continued back to Blackpool as service 2, terminating at the Bus Station. Lancashire County Council chose to buy back several services which had dropped below previous levels and awarded contracts to Fylde Borough Transport to run:

2 Bus Station to Poulton every hour Monday to Saturday evenings only
7/7A Blackpool to Bispham Circulars, each every hour Monday to Saturday evenings only
15 Blackpool to Staining every hour Monday to Saturday morning peak, afternoon peak, evenings and on Sundays.

Fylde RE 37 works a tendered journey on the 15 to Staining in 1989 shortly before a repaint into the new livery, having lost the lettering on its former Blue Bus Rambler allover advert

This resulted in a 20 minute evening and 30 minute Sunday service along Newton Drive; a near 30 minute peak frequency to/from Staining and a near 30 minute evening service to Bispham via both Warbreck Drive and Devonshire Road.

The service pattern became quite stable with only minor tweaks. Most notable was the re-routing of the 15 to regain its former route via Warbreck Hill Road and Bispham Road to Bispham Library from July 1987. Route 2A was also now interworked with the 180/182 from Poulton to Preston - five single deckers (usually Nationals) were now deployed on a five hour cycle which worked a 15 to Staining and back, a 2A to Poulton, a round trip to Preston and then back to Bispham as a 2A.

In November 1987 Fylde introduced commercial daytime services on the 2 (Blackpool to Poulton) and 15 (Blackpool to Staining) running 3 to 5 minutes in front of a Blackpool 2 and six minutes in front of their 15. Initially they ran from the Bus Station, but from June the terminus moved to Market Street, and in November 1988 again moved to Abingdon Street. The 2s were reduced to school holidays and Saturdays only from May and the commercial services ended on 15th April 1989. Blackpool took over the evening and Sunday 15s in October 1989, with the peak workings and evening 2s withdrawn without replacement. This ended Fylde's presence on the corridor - for now.

The 7/7A evening services was taken over by Blackpool Transport on 4 January and in December 1988 a new daytime minibus service was started on the routes on a 15 minute frequency as a response to competition from Fylde's 11, 11A and 11B and the evening service ended in 1989. Blackpool later improved the 7/7A to replace the 3 and it became apparent that the Bispham end of the 2/2A was no longer necessary.

Delta 104 heads for Poulton on Abingdon Street in September 1991 (Donald MacRae)

As a result on 10 June 1991, the 2/2A were revised to provide a 20 minute frequency service between Blackpool and Poulton only with one bus per hour via the 2A route. 5 single deckers were now used as the routes remained interworked with the 180/2. Deltas were now the usual allocation. The 15 was extended from Bispham via All Hallows Road, Fleetwood Road, Cleveleys Victoria Square to a new Safeway Store off Victoria Road West in Cleveleys. 2 buses were used - again normally Deltas. The 2A ran hourly evenings/Sundays as did the 15 but only from Staining to Bus Station as before.
30 March 1992 saw a reallocation of the company's minibus fleet and the Poulton service was doubled to every 10 minutes. Five out of the six hourly departures ran via Highcross Road as the 2A and used City Pacers (5 required) while the sixth ran as a 2 via Hardhorn and was linked to the 180/2 to Preston using three Deltas. The evening 2A continued using 1 minibus. The 15 was also converted to minibuses. For the first time the 2/2A now ventured to the Hospital, making the diversion off Newton Drive to get passengers much closer to this obvious traffic objective.

City Pacer 577 heads down Church Street from Devonshire Squire on a Poulton to Bispham 2 working, passing a Dart demonstrator on the 26 in 1998.

The contract for the evening and Sunday services on the 15 passed to Fylde in April 1992 and later in the year Fylde also won a contract for the first 2 from Poulton at 0730 Mondays to Fridays. October 1992 saw the 180/2 end and the 2 workings now became minibus operated. Single deckers took over the 15 in January 1993 but in April the service was curtailed to Gynn Square.

November 1994 saw a major recast of the Blackpool and Fylde networks as Blackpool now owned the latter. Changes saw the 2/2A and 7/7A merged as they had been eight years earlier. A 7/8 minute service was introduced with six buses per hour via Highcross (as 2A or 2B) and two via Hardhorn (as 2). From Blackpool (Odeon Cinema) the 2 and 2B ran every 15 minutes via Claremont, Devonshire Road, Red Bank Road, Warbreck Drive, Gynn Square and Claremont back to the Bus Station and onto Poulton. The 2A ran every 15 minutes in the opposite direction. Evening and Sunday buses ran every 30 minutes alternating between the 2A and 2B. 11 City Pacers were used, though reliability problems saw a 12th soon added.

The 15 continued, though the Gynn to Blackpool section was withdrawn. Fylde retained the evening service and the early morning 0730 trip. However with such a high frequency on Newton Drive, the 15 was becoming less popular and Blackpool withdrew the service in April 1995 with Fylde winning a contract for a replacement daytime service to maintain links to Staining. This was only a temporary measure as independent Town Bus took over in April 1995 using ex London and West Midlands Fleetlines amongst others. This too was short lived as Fylde registered the daytime 15s commercially in April - throughout this episode it retained the contracted evening/Sunday operations.

The 15 was finally withdrawn in August 1996 as services 23/23A were extended from Victoria Hospital to provide a half hourly service to Staining with the same resources as deployed on the hourly 15. April 1998 saw the 2 reduced to every 10 minutes with alternate buses over the 2 and 2A route but the evening/Sunday service was increased to every 15 minutes - this time with alternate 2A and 2B workings as Hardhorn was not served. Nine minibuses were required (six evenings/Sundays) and Metroriders were now common.

The evening/Sunday service dropped back to half hourly in May 2000 but the Metro network saw a complete revision. The Bispham link ended again and the all buses now ran over the former 2A route via Highcross but showed service 2. A 10 minute daytime service and 30 minute evening service ran from Blackpool to Poulton. Metroriders continued to feature, but Double Deckers took over some of the daytime only buses from September as the minibus fleet underwent a major repaint programme into Metro liveries. Hardhorn was served by an off peak tendered service 52/54 (Poulton-Hardhorn-Hospital-Carleton-Poulton) run by an independent.

508 in the Line 2 Metrorider era in 2004 waiting time on a Cleveleys working at Poulton Church

8 April 2002 saw the 2 extended over the 26 route to South Pier and the evening/Sunday service increased to every 20 minutes. Three weeks later, one bus per hour was diverted via Hardhorn Road (ironically as 2A) to replace the 52/54 and was also extended to Cleveleys via Carelton, Thornton and Pheasants Wood. Every hour one bus was extended from South Pier to Mereside alternately as a 2B or 2C via different routes in South Shore, though these were quickly replaced by extending the 2A over a consolidated route.

There then followed a period of expansion by extending the 2 over several legs, often replacing other operators services:

6 January 2003 - 2 buses per hour extended from South Pier to Lytham Square incorporating Blackpool's 77 St. Annes Roamer (16 buses needed)
October 2003 - 1 evening bus per hour linked to tendered service 88 (Poulton to Cleveleys
November 2003 - Lytham to Poulton workings extended to Thornton (Hillylaid Crossing) to replace Stagecoach 167/8 workings (17 buses needed)
November 2004 - Thornton workings extended to Cleveleys but 2A curtailed at Poulton (still 17 buses)
30 October 2005 - two buses per hour (one evenings/Sundays) extended Poulton to Knott End as service 2C replacing Stagecoach 85
5 December 2005 - 2A withdrawn (10 replaces in South Shore) with 2C workings now serving Hardhorn instead
4 September 2006 - Cleveleys-Lytham workings extend to Wesham replacing Kirkham Roamer 70 (20 buses needed)
June 2007 - evening 88 incorporated into 2 route (one bus per hour each to Poulton, Cleveleys, Knott End)
July 2009 - one Sunday bus per hour extended to Cleveleys as per evening service

Meanwhile on 22 November 2004 service 15 resumed. Funding from Blackpool Council, Lancashire County Council and Tesco saw the new service run from Poulton via Castle Gardens, Norcross, Bispham College, Bispham, Warbreck Drive, Dickson Road, Town Centre, Hospital, Staining and Mythop Road to Mereside Tesco. This reinstated the Bispham to Hospital link, replaced the 5 to Staining (which had itself replaced the 23/23A) and provided new links to the expanded Tesco store. A half hourly service was provided using 4 minibuses, though in the evening and on Sunday this dropped to three as the service terminated at Bispham and the late evening service ran Gynn Square to Staining only.

Excel 226 passing through St John Square on the 2C, while still in Line 7 livery

September 2009 saw the end of the Tesco funding so the 15 was cut back to Staining using the time released to extend running times and improve reliability. The late evening buses now ran Staining to Blackpool only. Daytime trips to Poulton now served Faraday Way and Kincraig Avenue between Norcross and the College. At the same time route 2 was reduced to every 15 minutes over the South Pier to Poulton section and the Cleveleys journeys were withdrawn completely. Buses now ran Wesham to Lytham or South Pier to Knott End and 14 buses were now needed. The Hardhorn section was withdrawn completely in February 2010 and further changes in July 2010 saw the South Pier to Blackpool section withdrawn.

The 15 was diverted via Grange Road and Layton in February 2010 and again via Newton Drive and Devonshire Road in July 2010. February 2010 saw the evening service reduced to hourly (Blackpool to Staining only) It has since lost its evening service completely (May 2011) and its Sunday service has been reduced to hourly (Bispham to Staining)

The 2 has also seen minor reductions in service but October 2011 saw the 2C diverted away from Highcross Road and Newton Drive as it now runs via Blackpool Old Road, Collegiate School and Grange Park between Poulton and Hospital. Seven buses are still required normally five minibuses, one Trident and a single decker (Excel or Volvo) with the bigger buses intended for school time workings - though both stay out to provide two of the three evening workings.

Metro Buses

When the Metro network was launched the 2 was given a black and yellow identity. Metroriders 505-510 received Line 2 stickers in July 2010, but these were soon removed as up to four Atlanteans would appear from September to release minibuses for repainting in route branded liveries. The merger of the 2 and 26 in April 2002 saw Line 2 adopt the light green colour of the 26, before any buses had received the black route livery. This was later adopted for pool buses. 511-516 were the six buses allocated to the 26 and this immediately received Line 2 branding. Sisters 504-510 were treated between May and August 2002 with 517 following in December making 14 buses for the 16 workings from January 2003.

As the route expanded several more Metroriders were repainted:

518 March 2003
503 December 2003 (for Thornton extension)
502 November 2004 (to replace 511 which was out of use for nearly two years with accident damage)
501 December 2004 (total 17 buses for 17 workings)
595 November 2005 (for Knott End)
(511 returned Aug 2006 after repaint in March)

The Solo era started in June 2006 when 249 was painted out of Line 5 red to provide a larger capacity bus for particular workings and 285 followed in August. This had been the dedicated bus supplied by Lancashire County Council for the Kirkham Roamer which was now merged into the 2.

Solo 281 on Newton Drive during 2008.

Further Solos entered service in June/July 2007 when 279, 281-284 were transferred from the Lifestyle Line. These replaced 514-517 which were repainted into the pink Line 15 colours and replaced 584-587 which had been so attired since the route stated in 2004. 518 had also been painted into Line 10 colours earlier in the year. There were now seven Solos and 14 Metroriders in Line 2 colours. May 2008 saw the first new Solo to arrive in Line 2 colours as 247 and this replaced 595, while 240-246 arrived in May 2009 replacing 501/2/4/5/7 while 513 had moved to Line 15 earlier in the year after 516 had been withdrawn.

585 shortly before withdrawal in 2007 on the rural section of the 15 from Staining towards Tesco

The September 2009 services reduced the requirement to 14 buses and the service now became mainly Solo operated. 240-247 were joined by fellow long Solos 286/7, 294 from Lines 3 and 16 and these allowed 279/81-83 to receive pool livery with 249, 284 and 285 making up the 14 buses as Metroriders 506, 508-512 were withdrawn.

December 2007 and 353 works the regular double deck duty on the 2C to Knott End

From 2006 a double decker was allocated to the 0742 2C from Knott End as this experienced heavy loadings at school times and had outgrown 33 seat Solo 249 which was the regular bus. Initially it was swapped for a Metrorider in the Town Centre or at South Pier but this soon ceased and the bus would stay out all day - a duty which included a return trip on the 88 to Poulton. Atlanteans were commonly used, though Deltas became common as the Atlanteans were withdrawn.
Today there is a regular double deck working which starts with the 0548 2 from Poulton and works:

2C Blackpool to Knott End at 0620, 0950, 1320 and 1650 returning at 0725, 1055, 1425, 1755
2 Blackpool to Poulton at 0835, 1205, 1535, 1857 and hourly to 2257 and return at 0548, 0918, 1248, 1618 and hourly from 1928 to 2328.

A second big bus working uses a single decker which forms the 0625 from Knott End and:

2C Blackpool to Knott End at 0850, 1220, 1550, 1927 and 2127 returning at 0955, 1325, 1655, 2025 and 2225
2 Blackpool to Poulton at 0735, 1105, 1435, 1805, 2327 and return at 0818, 1148, 1518, and 1848.

The other five workings are normally Solo operated after a period between June 2010 and January 2011 when Excels were usually allocated.

Trident 344 arrives; Solo and Excel repaints

2012-01-24T20:25:00.001Z

Trident 344 has now arrived at Blackpool Transport and 343 has returned from Blackburn. 344 is confirmed as former Bus Vannin 50 but it has not yet received its new registration, though H2FBT is rumoured to be allocated to it.

A last look at Solo 257 in red on a diverted Line 5 working in 2009

Meanwhile Solo 257 has entered the paint shop to become the latest of the 2003 Solos to receive the new fleet livery. Of the 12 buses 250-255 and 257 will be in the new livery, 258-260 retain Line 3 blue, 249 Line 2 green and 256 Line 5 red. 248 of 2008 is the only other Line 5 liveried Solo. Excel 226 has also been repainted.

Buses to Great Marton

2012-01-22T22:08:00.002Z

August 1935 and one year old Leyland Lion 92 turns from Hoo Hill onto the Promenade at Central Station. This was one of a batch of six - Blackpool's only Cravens bodied buses. Like all buses from 1933 to 1951 these buses had centre doors. They were withdrawn after the war - having been converted to perimeter seating for serviceman's transport and also converted to gas power. Scrapping took place in 1950. Lions 90-95 were regulars on route 16 at this time.

February 1928 saw the launch of a new bus service numbered 16 from Talbot Road Bus Station via Cookson Street, Raikes Road (now Church Street), Newton Drive, Beech Road, (West and South) Park Drive and Preston New Road to Newhouse Farm. It returned via Preston Old Road. Frequency ranged from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the time of day.

November 1930 saw the 16 revised to start on the Promenade and run via Victoria Street, Hornby Road, Forest Gate, West Park Drive and Preston New Road to Cornwall Place, returning via Preston Old Road back to West Park Drive. A half hourly service was provided with short workings to Park Gates as service 8 to make a 15 minute service. The 8 was dropped in the winter from January 1931 leaving the 16 to serve Hornby Road and Stanley Park alone. The 16 terminus reverted to the Bus Station at this time, but reverted to the Promenade again in December 1931 and now served Preston Old Road both ways.

June 1935 saw the 16 extended from Cornwall Place across Preston New Road via Cherry Tree Road to Welcome Inn - buses now running every 10 minutes having been progressively increased in frequency as Great Marton developed. One year old Tigers 90-95 were commonly used. Short workings had used the number 16A for Cornwall Place and 16B which ran off the main route via Halifax Street, Goldsboro Road and Worcester Road to St Leonard's Road. 1939 saw this Welcome Inn extension cease and buses terminated at Cornwall Place - or at workers times continued across Preston New Road to Kumara Crescent (opposite Newhouse Road just across Preston New Road) and the service was converted to double deck operation for the first time as permission had been granted to lop tree branches on Forest Gate and Mere Road. The 16A was now redundant and the 16B soon suspended due to fuel shortages. The latter was soon reinstated and the each of the 16 and 16B now ran every 15 minutes making a 7-8 minute interval on the common section. This was later increased to every 12 minutes and the 16B was extended along Worcester Road and Lancaster Road to terminate at Cornwall Place with the 16. 6 buses were required.

In 1953, despite its long established use as a terminus, residents of Cornwall Place complained about buses reversing there and as an experiment the terminus was moved slightly further along Preston Old Road to Buttermere Road which was renamed Wordsworth Avenue by 1956 after the experiment had been made permanent. The 16/16B were amongst the last refuges for the prewar Burlingham Titans as shown on this flickr link at the Promenade terminus outside what was Woolworths and is now Wetherspoons. With these retired in 1958, the route became the territory of the post war streamliners as seen here and here.

Summers 1964-1966 saw an unusual linkage of the 16 and 16B with the 3A and 3 respectively. Buses continued from Wordsworth Avenue via Preston Old Road and Cherry Tree Road with the 16B turning onto Newhouse Road to follow the 3 route and the 16B picking up the 3A route at Cherry Tree Gardens and onto Vicarage Lane. Both routes met at Oxford Square and continued via Park Road, Town Centre into Claremont terminating at Westminster Road (16) or Cromwell Road (16B). The combined six minute service continued with no less than 14 buses required. For the winter - and permanently after the 1966 season, the separate routes were reinstated.

Route Map of Great Marton - click on image to view large size

Frequencies were progressively withdrawn during the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Summer 1967 saw an 8 minute combined headway reducing to every 10 in the evenings and on Sundays. Winter 1968 saw just a 15 minute headway with 3 buses and a 20 minute evening/Sunday service using two buses. Around 1966/7 the Town Centre terminus moved to the Town Hall.

Now preserved AEC Swift 570 leaves Park Gates for Wordsworth Avenue on 28 August 1982

21 December 1971 saw the routes converted to OMO operation with AEC Swifts, buses now terminating via Cornwall Place, Kingsley Road and onto Wordsworth Avenue to avoid conductorless buses reversing. Winter 1976 saw the 16/16B simplified into a single service in Great Marton with all buses showing 16 and running via South Park Drive, Preston Old Road, St Leonard's Road, Worcester Road, Lancaster Road and Preston Old Road to the Wordsworth Avenue terminus. Buses no longer served Halifax Street and Goldsboro Avenue, no doubt a relief to the drivers who had to pilot long Swifts around these quite tight roads. The peak frequency was every 10 minutes, off peak every 15 minutes and evenings every 24 minutes, but this was soon reduced to every 15 minutes (peaks), 20 off peak and 30 evenings and Sundays with a maximum of 4 buses.

Route 16 loadings were rarely sufficient to require the 86 seat Atlanteans, but on Saturday 18 February 1984 343 makes an appearance

In 1977 the Town Centre terminus moved to Cookson Street, outside Talbot Road Bus Station. Number 16B reappeared in February 1982 to denote Sunday journeys which were an amalgam of services 3 and 16. Buses ran via Park Road to Oxford Square and South Park Drive following the 16 route to Wordsworth Avenue, then via Cherry Tree Road North and as service 3 to Mereside. An hourly service was provided, supported by hourly services on both the 3 and 16. The 16 ended on Saturday 25 October 1986.

At deregulation route 16 was replaced by route 4 which served Park Road rather than Stanley Park. In October 1987 Swift 589 heads into Blackpool Town Centre displaying Thornton - terminus of alternate journeys at the time (Donald MacRae)

It was replaced by service 4 which ran from Cookson Street via Park Road and South Park Drive and then as the 16 to Wordsworth Avenue. A half hourly service was provided using two buses, though this reduced to hourly in the evenings and on Sundays. Single deckers - typically Swifts - continued to be allocated. On 6 April 1987 the 4 was extended from Wordsworth Avenue to Mereside on Monday to Saturday (including evenings) and one weekday daytime bus per hour was extended from the Town Centre to Thornton via Warbreck Drive, Bispham and Ashfield Road. July saw alternate daytime journeys (those starting in Blackpool) and all evening/Sunday journeys re-routed via Preston Old Road not Worcester Road in Marton as route 4A. Sunday journeys were extended to Mereside.

April 1988 saw the 4/4A end with one bus per hour on route 3 diverted at Oxford Square as 3A via South Park Drive and the 4 route (including Worcester Road) to Mereside. This lasted until April 1990 and Great Marton was now left to Fylde.

Minibuses often appeared on route 33 as demonstrated by 552 at St George's School - the terminus by Marton Hypermarket

Also from deregulation Stanley Park was served by route 33 which ran from Marton Hypermarket (now Asda) via Great Marton, Stanley Park, Town Centre, Warbreck Hill, Bispham and Norbreck to Cleveleys. Daytime buses ran every hour Marton-Cleveleys and every 30 minutes Blackpool-Cleveleys but in the evening and on Sundays only an hourly Blackpool-Marton service ran. The 33 was withdrawn in August 1988 as Fylde services covered most of its links.

Fylde in Great Marton

Fylde Renault 119 sets off from Marton Mere Caravan Park on Fastlink F4

As part of its post deregulation expansion, Fylde introduced minibuses to Marton and Mereside. Its second service was 'Fastlink F4' which ran from Market Street to Marton Mere Caravan Park via Church Street, Whitegate Drive, Preston Old Road, Halifax Street, Goldsboro Avenue, Worcester Road, Lancaster Road, Wordsworth Avenue, Kipling Drive and Preston New Road. A half hourly service was provided using three buses shared with the F1 (to Mereside via Park Road). An hourly evening and Sunday service was also provided which prompted the withdrawal of LCC subsidised route 33.

The F4 competed with the much more frequent Blackpool service 26 along Whitegate Drive as well as providing a better frequency in Great Marton compared to the paltry hourly service on Blackpool's 3A. Goldsboro Avenue was served for the first time since the 16B came off in 1976, as was Halifax Street but the other section (to Preston Old Road) compared to the 16B (which accessed it from West Park Drive). By combining Whitegate Drive and Great Marton, the F4 gave a link to the shops near the Saddle. The service ran into Marton Mere Leisure Park, initially serving the internal road system before the later terminus at the Park entrance was adopted.

The F4 saw periodic minor changes summarised below:

November 1988 - diverted to Mereside Shops due to winter closure of Marton Mere - now uses two buses without interworking
February 1989 - renumbered 44 and extended to Hypermarket
April 1989 - evening buses diverted to Marton Mere (33 served it daytimes)
October 1989 - 33 and 44 linked as circular, 44 out via Preston Old Road to Mereside Shops and back via Newhouse Road and Park Road. Now every 20 minutes each way
March 1990, circular split, 44 terminates at Mereside Branstree Road until Tesco opened in March 1990
November 1990, 44 terminus moved to Mereside Troutbeck Crescent
September 1992 - 44 increased to every 15 minutes and converted to single deck operation using Bristol REs. Terminus usually Branstree Road, but some extend to Tesco
March 1993, 44 converted back to minibuses and split as 44A to Tesco and 44B to Marton Mere. Re-routed via Preston Old Road and St Leonard's Road (not Halifax St/Goldsboro Avenue)
February 1994 44A/44B extended to Cleveleys Park via Bispham over 55A/B route

The Bristol RE era on the 44 sees 15 (ex 38) depart from Corporation Street for Mereside on 8 October 1992 (Keith West)

The evening F4 lasted until October 1989 when it was merged with contracted evening service 3 (Gynn to Mereside) as the 333 and 444 which ran from Gynn via Claremont, Blackpool and Park Road to Oxford then in a loop via Penrose Avenue, Mereside and Great Marton (444 ran the reverse). Each ran hourly. This periodically changed terminus between Mereside Shops, Tesco and Marton Mere Leisure Park. In 1992 the circular was split on paper with the 444 running both ways via Great Marton - though buses continued onto route 333 at Marton Mere and vice versa.

Blackpool Deltas 101 and 102 spent 1995/6 with Fylde in blue and cream as 8/9. 9 waits at Corporation Street for Mereside in April 1995 (Dave Hatcher)

November 1994 saw the 44A upgraded to single deck operation using Deltas and single deck Atlanteans, with the 44B, 333 and 444 retaining Renault minibuses. The 44B was diverted via Mere Road, West Park Drive, Knowsley Road back to Whitegate Drive at this time. June/July 1996 saw all four routes converted to low floor operation with Optare Excels. Marton Mere was last served in November 1999 and the year round terminus for both routes was now Tesco.

The Excel era sees 206 on turn out of Forest Gate on the 44B - historically the 16 continued past the photographer onto Hornby Road

Two further Fylde routes served Great Marton briefly. February 1989 saw new route 4 take a meandering road from Cleveleys to Lytham via Little Bispham, North Shore, Blackpool, Stanley Park, Victoria Hospital, West Park Drive, Lawson Road, St Leonards Road, Worcester Road, Lancaster Road, Wordsworth Avenue, Kipling Drive, Paddock Drive, Mereside Shops, Clifton Drive, Queensway, St. Annes housing estates and Ansdell. It lasted in this form until October 1989 when it was replaced by a more direct route between Cleveleys and St. Annes via Hospital but not Great Marton.

Between May and September 1992 route 33B ran from Blackpool to Marton Mere via Park Road, Oxford Square, South Park Drive, Preston Old Road, Wordsworth Avenue, Kipling Drive, Paddock Drive and Preston New Road to Marton Mere, though this was replaced by the increased frequency on the 44 in September.

Great Marton was also served by Phoenix North West route 53/53A from Squires Gate to Poulton every 30 minute from January 1996. Between Oxford Square and Hospital the service ran via Preston Old Road, St Leonard's Road, Weymouth Road, Colchester Road, Lawson Road and East Park Drive. From April 2001 this was taken over by Blackpool Transport following the sudden collapse of Phoenix and ran until November 2001 when it was replaced by route 9 (Poulton to Mereside via Hospital and South Shore) which lasted until April 2002.

August 2009 saw a shuttle service numbered 4A from Wordsworth Avenue to Mereside due to the shortening of Line 4 due to roadworks. Solo 269 waits at the terminus across the road from the original route 16 terminus

Metro Era

April 2001 saw the 44A, 44B, 333 and 444 replaced by Line 4 which followed the 44B route from Tesco to Blackpool and the 44A route to Cleveleys Park. It ran every 20 minutes with seven buses, and hourly evenings/Sundays. Excels were used until January 2003 when Solos took over. With minor changes it continues in this form today.

Sightings

2012-01-22T18:12:00.000Z

Just a few sightings of note to report this week. Trident 343 was noted back at Bus and Coach World in Blackburn parked next to the virtually complete 344. 343 is understood to be receiving minor rectification work and it is hoped 344 will be delivered shortly.

Solo 280 made an unusual appearance on route 14 (Fleetwood to Mereside) on Friday morning while sister 254 is back in service after its fleet livery repaint.

Tridents at ten

2012-01-14T22:56:00.001Z

332, the last new Trident purchased, heads through the pedestrianised St John's Square.

2012 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Blackpool Dennis Trident. Late 2001 saw an order placed with Dennis for nine Trident chassis to receive East Lancs Lolyne bodywork. UK operators purchased "Trident 2s" which were not the second version of the type, but the 2 referred to the axle count. The chassis was unveiled in 1997, but the first did not enter service until the start of 1999. Over 2,000 had been produced before Blackpool's arrived.

301 - the first Trident on a short working Line 14 in July 2006

Dennis went through several owners since the 1982 Lancets - Blackpool's only other buses from this maker. At the time it was part of Hestair (who also owned Blackpool coach builder Duple) but passed to a management buyout (t/a Trinity) in 1989. It was sold to Mayflower in 1998 who also bought Alexander. In 2001 a merger with Henleys (owner of Plaxton) saw Dennis become part of Transbus International. The Dennis brand was later dropped but parent Mayflower entered administration and Transbus was rescued in May 2004 as Alexander Dennis (less Plaxton which was sold to other owners).

Blackpool's first Tridents were badged as "Dennis" vehicles and on 10 May 2002 301 arrived from East Lancs - the first new double decker since 1994 and the first East Lancs body since the 1989 Olympians. Like the Atlanteans before, the number series restarted at 301. Its two predecessors were Burlingham bodied Leyland Titan PD2 301 (LFV301) which ran from 1957 to 1970 and Atlantean/East Lancs 301 (BFR301R) which ran from 1977 to 1989. It seems highly likely that 301 will have a much longer service life in the town.

The other eight vehicles followed with 304 arriving on the 14th, 303 16th, 305 17th, 302 20th, 306 on 22nd with 307/9 on 28th and finally 308 on 29th. The launch date was 31 May when the buses were lined up at North Pier. They were all dedicated to Line 14 and received its dark green and yellow livery - the first buses to be delivered in a Metro livery. After the launch all nine entered service, symbolically replacing Atlanteans at Corporation Street on Line 14 journeys. The 14 required 16 buses on weekdays, 10 working Fleetwood to St. Annes and 6 working Fleetwood to Blackpool. The nine Tridents typically worked St. Annes trips supported by Atlanteans of two generations earlier. These, Blackpool Transport's first low floor double deckers, were 10.5m long and seated 77 (nine less than the Atlanteans) with 47 upstairs and 30 down. Cummins engines were fitted.

Brand new Tridents 317 (l) and 315 (r) in base livery prior to branding on 9 May 2003 just after arrival from East Lancs

301-309 clearly impressed as nine more were ordered for 2003 delivery they arrived as 310-318 between 1 May and 15th May, ahead of a launch on 23rd May. 310, 312-317 entered service the following day on Line 14, with 311 noted by the 29th after minor damage repairs and 318 on the 26th. Like their sisters 310-316 were in Line 14 green and yellow, but 317/8 introduced a new black and yellow pool livery. Tridents had so far been restricted to Line 14 with the odd appearance on schools work and tram replacement duties but 317/8 were now 'go anywhere' buses - though blinds covered only 11 and 14 destinations. On 5 June 317 was noted on Line 11 for the first time. Both black Tridents have tachographs allowing private hire duties.

The first Line 11 Tridents lined up prior to launch these became 326, 323 and 325 left to right.

2004 saw a third batch of Tridents, this time seven strong. First to arrive was 319 in black/yellow on 30 April, while six painted in turquoise and yellow followed in early May for Line 11. These were numbered 322-327 as 320/1 were to be reserved for two more pool buses which never appeared. 319 entered service on 25 May, followed by the Line 11 six on 29 May. 2005 saw no further Tridents arrived and in 2006 the fourth and final order was delivered - 328-332 arriving in June and with four entering service after launch on 23 June, with 332 following on 26th June. 322-332 allowed half of the Line 11 PVR of 22 to be rostered for Tridents. At the launch 332 was named 'Arthur Topham' in tribute to a late Blackpool Transport traffic manager. Two further Tridents followed with 331 named 'Les Kersh' after a Blackpool Councillor who served on the company board and passed away in 2008. 330 is named Colin Baker after a former bus driver.

Side by side in service - Line 11 was often beset by late running and bunching as 323 overtakes 322 at Starr Gate

1 November 2007 and 334 and 336 are on route learning/driver familiarisation duties prior to their deployment on Line 1 four days later - as well as the extra length these featured rubber mounted windows, not bonded glazing like their new sisters

Blackpool has since turned its attention to buying second hand Tridents with 21 so far acquired - though not all are in service. Blackburn Transport purchased five near 12m Tridents in 2002 and its successor (Lancashire United) sold these to Blackpool in August 2007. These leviathans - Blackpool's biggest double deckers, seat 90 with 53 upstairs and 37 downstairs. They were painted into orange and yellow between September and October and entered service on Line 1 - the new year round Promenade service on 5 November 2007. Flickr link: 337 with Blackburn

The length of the Blackburn buses is apparent from this interior view of 336

The following year saw a pair of redundant London Tridents acquired. Unusually they were new to Independent Blue Triangle of Rainham, but by the time of purchase the operator had been bought by Go-Ahead and had been used almost exclusively on route 248. TL911/3 (PO51UMG/UMJ) were purchased through Ensignbus dealership they arrived on 20 October 2008, however the former suffered the ignominy of being rescued from the hard shoulder of the M55 by Blackpool's tow wagon having suffered engine failure. They were new in September/October 2001 and featured an older style of bodywork. They were dual doored seating just 66 - 46 up and 20 down. TL913 entered the workshops immediately and was converted to single door and upseated to 75 (46/29) and received new Blackpool style roller blinds. It received Line 1 orange livery and fleet number 339 in February but did not enter service until 15 June.

338 ready for repaint in May 2009

TL911 became 338 and conversion work similar to 339 commenced in February and was completed with a repaint into Line 1 colours in May. After this a replacement engine was sourced and fitted but it was not until December that work was completed allowing 338 to make its debut on 5 January 2010.

339 in Line 1 colours but debranded on route 11

Two sister buses were dispatched from Ensign on 15 February 2010 as the former TL919/20 (PO51UMT/V). TL920 duly arrived but had left a defective TL919 on the M6 in the Midlands. This was recovered to Ensign for repair and eventually arrived on 25 March as seen here. TL920 became 341 and was converted to single door as per 338/9 but received LED destination displays. It was repainted in the new fleet livery during May. TL919 became 340 and was completed in July. 341 entered service on 21 August with 340 following around 2nd September.

Ex South Lancs 342 heads through Lytham with a defective destination display

A tenth second hand Trident arrived on 15 April 2010. Blackpool's new 342 was new as X80SLT to South Lancs Transport and was another 90 seater like the ex Blackburn's - indeed it was built alongside them being licensed in December 2002. SLT kept the cherished plate and 342 became PL52XAD. A repaint into the new fleet livery followed in June/July and it entered service on 28th August. Flickr link: 342 with SLT at Fleetwood Freeport and 342 at Leigh with SLT

Blackpool has since turned to the Isle of Man with 11 Tridents on the way, with 343 first to arrive after refurbishment and repaint and it entered service in December 2011, with 344 expected to follow. Once all are in use later this year this will take Blackpool's Trident fleet to 51.

In the Metro era Tridents were used on the 1 (333-339), 11 (322-332) and 14 (301-316) with pool buses 317-9 standing in when required. These occasionally appeared on other Metro routes such as the 2, 6 and 7 and all would put in turns on school service when required. Under the current network, Tridents dominate routes 9, 11 and 14 and see regular use on the 1 at weekends and one works routes 2/2C on weekdays.

Routine repaints commenced with 304 in February 2009 and all of the first batch received a full repaint in Line 14 colours by December 2009. Only three of the second batch have yet been repainted with 314 treated in June 2009 after front end accident repairs, 310 in February 2010 and 311 in April. Accident damage to 310 saw a second repaint, this time into the new livery in September 2011.

Like 338, 340 failed on delivery but was reactivated much faster than its sister. The second pair of ex Blue Triangle buses were fitted with LED destinations.

The new livery premiered on 340-342, but surprisingly it was the orange ex Blackburn buses which were next to be repainted after four years in service. 333/4/5/7 were treated between September and November 2010 with 336 following in January 2011. The 2006 Tridents were all treated between November 2010 and February 2011 with the 2004 Line 11 examples 322-327 treated from February to July 2011. 338/9 were then treated in August/September 2011.

New Years Day 2004 sees 317 working a South Pier to Blackpool journey on normally minibus worked Line 2

Presently 301-309, 311 and 314 retain Line 14 livery after their first repaint, 312/3/5/6 retain their original coat, 317-319 retain pool livery and have yet to be repainted with 322-344 all in the new scheme.

The Dennis Lancets

2012-01-10T21:32:00.000Z

598 on its familiar 2/2A duty at Poulton

Candidates for the most unusual Blackpool bus are the four Marshall Camair bodied Dennis Lancets operated between 1982 and 1988. They came about through a tendering procedure whereby manufacturer bid for a contract to supply vehicles. There was little on the market that was compatible with the existing Blackpool fleet which comprised Leyland engined Atlanteans and AEC engined Swifts. Dennis and Marshall were presumably the lowest bidder. Dennis supplied its new high floor Lancet chassis, which proved to be something of a flop. Only 87 were completed between 1981 and 1990 and that included 12 mobile libraries!

598 starts the climb of Anchorsholme Hill on route 3 to Mereside

Blackpool's were amongst the first taking chassis 106, 107, 109 and 111 in a series starting at 101. They were intended to arrive earlier in 1982 and registrations ORN596-9X were booked and fleet numbers 596-599 were allocated. In the end the first, 596, did not arrive until 22nd July 1982 and was tested on trade plates prior to licensing as VCW596Y on 1st August. 597 arrived on 14 August; 598 on 19th and 599 20th, all with matching VCW---Y plates. At least 599 carried its ORN599X plate as it featured in a trade press article in June 1982, prior to completion.

596 demonstrates the high steps onto the platform and again into the saloon that blighted underfloor engined buses such as the Lancet

The Lancets were commonly used on routes 2/2A (Blackpool to Poulton) which needed two buses with a third at peak times. They also appeared on other single deck routes such as the 3/3A, 8, 16, 19, 23/23A and 26 when available. Such availability was not always high as the vehicles had to return to Dennis for warranty work in their first few months. The Perkins V8 engines were found to be very heavy on fuel, and somewhat noisy, reputedly leading to complaints when they operated the night tram service.
After deregulation, the Lancets saw some use on newly acquired tendered services such as the Kirham Roamer, 165 (Preston to Lytham), 173 (Blackpool to Kirkham) and 180/2 (Preston to Poulton and Fleetwood). Single deck 'town' services now comprised the 2A (Poulton to Bispham), 3 (Mereside to Bispham), 4 (Blackpool to Wordsworth Avenue), 15 (Staining to Bispham), 23-25 (Hospital to South Shore/Mereside) and 33 (Cleveleys to Marton).

596 leaves Depot to work route 173 to Kirkham in the new livery. Later repaints on Leyland Nationals featured cream rather than green window surrounds (Donald MacRae)

Routine repaints commenced in May 1987 when 599 became the first single decker to receive the new livery, followed by 596-8 over the next two months. 597 had suffered accident damage prior to repaint and emerged with slightly revised front end glazing. 596 suffered similar damage in late 1987 and was rebuilt in house in early 1988. February had seen the withdrawal of the final AEC Swifts and it was a great surprise that 596-599 were suddenly withdrawn in March 1988 and all four left on 20th having been sold to Redby of Sunderland, who also bought similar Camair bodies on Dennis Dominator chassis.

June 1988 and 599 is seen still in Blackpool livery with Redby of Sunderland (Dave Hatcher)

They ran in Sunderland in various liveries until summer 1993 when 596/7/9 left to go to Tanat Valley of Pentrefelin. 596/7 saw use on Oswestry Town Services, but 599 became a source of spares. 598 meanwhile was purchased by Knotty of Stoke-on-Trent where it was later rejoined by Swift 583. Further disposals took place in 1995 with 596 moving to Pioneer of Rochdale in February and 598 to Bluebird of Middleton in April. 597 was bought by enthusiast Graham Oliver for his Thames Valley Training fleet. It returned to Blackpool Transport for a repaint in its original livery (adopted by Thames Valley for its fleet of mainly ex London buses). 599 was sold on for scrap.

Sister 598 in a later Redby livery in South Shields - it was later repainted green (Dave Hatcher)

598 later joined 596 with Pioneer in October 1996 but was sold onto a dealer in April 1997 and was presumably scrapped. In 2000 596 moved to the Abundant Life Centre, a church in Bradford and lasted until February 2003. 597 passed to a preservationist in Hexham in 2000 and was viewed by the author in 2004 in poor condition. By then the last survivor its current circumstances are not known.

596 in the vivid Pioneer livery in Rochdale shows the modified quarter lights fitted by Blackpool Transport to this and 597 after accident damage

The sad condition of 597 in March 2004 stored on a farm near Hexham

And then there was one

2012-01-10T13:41:00.000Z

Excel 217 under refurbishment back in 2009

Optare Excel 223 has departed today to Teesside to receive its new engine at Cummins. This will leave sister 225 as the only original specification Excel in use. Sister 226 will be the return load from Cummins tomorrow. The refurbishment programme commenced in summer 2007 when 210 was treated and it returned to use in September. The programme, which also involves body work overhaul and, usually a repaint has involved the following vehicles with their completion date and livery.

1 210 September 2007 (Line 7 livery, since into new livery)
2 211 November 2007 (Line 7 livery, since into new livery)
3 212 March 2008 (Line 7 livery)
4 213 August 2008 (Line 7 livery)
5 220 October 2008 (pool livery)
6 216 January 2009 (Line 7 livery)
7 218 November 2009 (no repaint, kept pool livery)
8 217 November 2009 (Line 7 livery)
9 219 February 2010 (pool livery)
10 215 June 2010 (Line 7 livery)
11 212 January 2011 (new livery)
12 224 February 2011 (new livery)
13 221 September 2011 (retained pool livery but soon repainted into new livery)
14 222 December 2011 (new livery)
15 226 returned January 2012 (for new livery)

Meanwhile Solo 254 is nearing the end of its repaint into the new fleet livery.

More from the Isle of Man

2012-01-08T11:16:00.000Z

Bus and Coach Buyer 6 January 2012 features a profile of Bus and Coach World which includes a shot of what is believed to be Bus Vannin 50 under refurbishment for Blackpool as 344. Its new front end is in place and the roof panels have been repaired (50 having suffered roof damage). Since then the bus has been completely repainted.

The magazine also reports that ten of Bus Vannin's DAF DB250s with East Lancs bodies are also due to follow the Tridents. These should be their 89-98 (FMN298, 503, 618-23, 835/6J) with the option for two more batches to follow in later years. This will bring in 21 mid life low floor double deckers allowing great inroads into the 26 strong closed top Olympian fleet.

The article notes that the Manx Tridents are low height (13'9" v 14'3") have Voith gearboxes rather than ZF and have been down seated to by one (H45/26F) and that the purchase and refurbishment is costing between £45,000 and £50,000 per bus.

Click here for the Bus and Coach Buyer website. You can subscribe for free downloads, and chose the 6 January issue with the Blackpool article on pages 12 to 14.

The Blackpool Routemaster

2012-01-07T18:17:00.004Z

Five Routemasters ran in London livery and here is 523 having received the minimum necessary preparation for service, without repaint,or destination blinds. It is seen here at St John's Church working a 5 to Grange Park

Towards the end of 1985 Blackpool Transport surprised many by announcing the trial of a London Transport AEC Routemaster with a few to purchasing six as part of its post deregulation strategy. Blackpool's actions followed those of Clydeside Scottish who had tried a Routemaster in 1985 prior to introducing a large fleet on services in Greater Glasgow ahead of deregulation. Sister business Kelvin Scottish did likewise as did Stagecoach - then a small independent operating in Perth.

RM1583 travelled up from London Bus Sales at Fulwell to Blackpool on 6 January 1986 and after an inspection entered service on routes 5 and 5A (Halfway House to Grange Park) two days later. It retained faded London Buses livery, a symptom of storage since July 1984. It was allocated number 500 which was reserved for demonstrators. It duly impressed and was purchased as the first of a batch of six and allocated number 521. Mid April saw it enter the paint shop for repaint into the 1930s lined red and white livery used on PD3 507 to commemorate the tramway centenary. This was adopted for the Routemasters, rather than the standard green and off-white livery and accentuated their age. An idea of how they may have looked in fleet livery is available on this flickr page.

RM1650 waits at Easington Crescent terminus on routes 5/5A. Destination and fleet numbers are displayed in the cab windscreen

The batch featured Leyland O.600 engines - compatible with Blackpool's PD3s but non standard for London as most of its Routemasters had AEC engines with around 400 having Leylands and these were early candidates for disposal. 521 was joined by RM848, RM1627 and RM1650 which arrived on Saturday 12th April and entered service on 15th/16th April on an emergency tram replacement service before settling onto services 5/5A. They entered service in London livery with numbers 522, 523 and 525 (resp) displayed on cards in the windscreen. Early May saw RM1640 arrived as 524, followed by RM1735 on 16 May as 526.

526 was the only one of the first six to be repainted before use. It is seen here in the paint shop having its lining applied. Behind it is 522 which has received extensive repanelling

Brief details of their life in London are in the table below showing the dates new and the last depot and withdrawal date in London service. Routemasters were completely rebuilt every few years and bodies, engines and chassis units were separated and a vehicle would arrive at Aldenham works and its identity be applied to an overhauled bus which would then return to depot. Several vehicle identities were lost for several years while the overhaul process went on and emerged again when it finished! As a result, the buses which arrived in Blackpool did not feature the same body or chassis units as when they were built and the final body numbers are shown in the table.

No	LT No	Reg	New	Wd	Last Depot	Body No	Arrived
521	RM1583	583CLT	5/63	7/84	Croydon	B1354	7/1/86
522	RM848	WLT848	7/61	12/85	Stamford Brook	B847	12/4/86
523	RM1627	627DYE	6/63	6/84	Stockwell	B1892	12/4/86
524	RM1640	640DYE	6/63	1/85	New Cross	B1556	6or7/5/86
525	RM1650	650DYE	7/63	2/85	Bow	B1608	12/4/86
526	RM1735	735DYE	10/63	12/84	West Ham	B1821	16/5/86

Routemasters 521 and 524 relax in depot on Sunday 2 November 1986 after the first week or deregulation and several 40 minute round trips on route 12. Alongside is a later generation of AEC - Swift 595 that would be withdrawn nine years before the two Routemasters.

521 made its debut in its new livery at the 'Leyland 90' bus rally in Leyland on Sunday 17th May and entered service a few days later. 526 became the second to be repainted, entering the body shop without seeing service. It was completed in early July and was followed by 524 and then 522 with 525 treated in August. 523 was the last to run in London livery on 30 August and went back into use in red and white in October.

The inhospitable atmosphere of Talbot Road Bus Station in January 1987 is brightened by 521's red and white livery. Route 14 departed from the centre of the Bus Station for many years - next to the hose for the radiators! Driver and guard would amble out from the canteen door just next to the Fylde Atlantean just before departure time

The 5/5A was the Routemaster's prime home, but they also ran on other crew routes 14 (Blackpool-Fleetwood) and 22/22A (Cleveleys-Halfway House and Lytham). They could be seen out until close of service on the 5/5A, whereas PD3s tended to be allocated to daytime only workings. Deregulation in October 1986 saw the 5/5A withdrawn so Routemasters were reallocated to route 12 (Blackpool to Airport) from Monday 27th. This required four buses and was increased to run every 10 minutes with the journey time reduced from 20 to 17 minutes as crew buses could achieve faster end to end times than the OPO buses used previously. The two spare buses could often be found on the 14 and 22.

The sylvan setting of Ballam Road, Lytham disguises the Guardian Insurance offices as 522 starts its 75 minute long journey from Lytham to Cleveleys on route 22A.

In July 1987 the 12 was extended to St. Annes and PD3 512 was painted red/white and with 507 and the Routemasters providing a pool of eight matching buses for the six bus workings. The frequency was later reduced to every 15 minutes needing four buses and the Routemasters once again dominated.

Routemasters 531 (left) and 533 (right) in different stages of repaint on 14 May 1988. Sister 530 had just vacated the space in the foreground

1988 saw the doubling of the Routemaster fleet as Blackpool chose to respond to Fylde's introduction of a Promenade bus service with its own route. Six more Routemasters were purchased and arrived in pairs during April. With six weeks to prepare the buses, they were treated to a simplified version of red and white livery to expedite the repaints. 528 was the first to be painted, noted in the paint shop on 24th April and was outshopped in early May followed by 527 and then 530 which left the paint shop on 14 May. 531 followed then 533 and finally 529 which was in the paint shop on 22 May. There was no 532 as this number was still used by a PD3. Launch day for the new service was Saturday 28 May and the six buses made their debut with promotional adverts and "Beachroamer" branding applied. Numbered 55 the service ran every 10 minutes on a daily basis from Starr Gate to Gynn Square and required six buses. The Sunday operation of Routemasters on the 55 is believed to have been unqiue at the time as neither London Buses nor the other provincial Routemaster operators used them on Sundays.

Painted and lettered, final pre service preparation takes place on 531, 527 and 529 in the bus compound

No	LT No	Reg	New	Wd	Last Depot	Body No	Arrived
527	RM879	WLT879	1/62			B1322	12/4/88
528	RM1357	357CLT	12/62			B1306	12/4/88
529	RM1966	ALM966B	7/64	12/87	Victoria	B1975	29/4/88
530	RM1989	ALM989B	8/64	2/88	Camberwell	B1967	22/4/88
531	RM2071	ALD71B	11/64	5/86	Croydon	B1954	22/4/88
533	RM2089	ALD89B	11/64	11/87	Victoria	B1984	29/4/88

First day and Routemaster 528 with a first batch bus behind awaits time at Starr Gate as Fylde 101 heads past on their Beachcomber service

The 55 ran until the end of the Illuminations and for the winter 527-531/3 were reallocated to crew duties on services 12, 14 and 22/22A alongside the first batch and replacing the PD3s which were placed into store, initially for the winter but never to run again. Between February and May 1989 their livery was modified to match the first batch. The Promenade service - renumbered 40 - resumed on 3 July 1989 but operating Monday to Friday only between Harrowside and Gynn Square operating until 29 September when it ran Saturdays only until the end of the season! With only four Routemasters required during the winter it was decided to store several examples and 521 523, 524, 525, 527, 528 and 530 were declared redundant. In this context it was surprising that a 13th Routemaster joined the fleet in November. Former RM1123 had been used as a promotional vehicle by Burton's Biscuits who sold it to Blackpool Transport for a nominal sum in exchange for it retaining their promotional livery for Royal Edinburgh Shortbread. Numbered 534 it entered service on 4 January 1990 and uniquely for Blackpool featured an AEC engine.

No	LT No	Reg	New	Wd	Last Depot	Body No	Arrived
534	RM1123	123CLT	5/62	11/86	Stamford Brook	B507	Nov 89

"The Biscuit Tin" 534 operated in this promotional livery for Burton's Royal Edinburgh Shortbread as part of the deal that led to its acquisition. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

Despite the rather half hearted operation in 1989, route 40 was back with a vengeance for 1990. Blackpool Transport secured access rights to Pontins Holiday Centre (held by Fylde in 1988/9). The 40 resumed at Easter (12 April) and ran every 10 minutes using five buses in the day with an evening service introduced every 30 minutes between Pontins and Tower using one bus. A daily service was provided. The stored Routemasters returned to use during March and April. 521 and 522 had been repainted in January and March - the latter featuring a promotional livery for Pontins on its sides and rear.

522 carried this promotional livery for Pontin's from 1990 to 1993 in return for exclusive access to Pontin's forecourt. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

At the end of the 1990 season 521-526 were placed in store. Surprisingly 521 was repainted again in November, followed by 523 525 and 526 by the end of the year with 524 treated in January. 526 saw occasional use after repaint, but the remainder remained stored until the 40 resumed on 28 March 1991. The service pattern remained the same, but new destination blinds were fitted to 521-526 restricted to Promenade only destinations, condemning these to seasonal only operation so they were stored again in November. 527-31/3/4 were similarly relegated after service on 7 December as route 12 was converted to Atlantean operation due to Union complaints that these newer buses were in store while the elderly Routemasters ran in service. March saw the 12 converted to One Man Operation precluding a return for the Routemasters. 534 would never run again for Blackpool Transport though it remained in store for several years. The storage allowed 527-31/3 to receive a repaint between February and April.

521 waits time at Pontin's in 1990 for another journey along the Prom to Gynn Square. Note how the white border to the fleet number has been dropped.

The 40 resumed on 16 April 1992 and was shortened to run between Pontin's and Tower requiring only four buses, though the evening service was increased to every 20 minutes. 13 buses for 4 duties meant that only half the fleet was required in future seasons. 1992 saw Pontin's bus 522 joined by the newly repainted 527-31/3. 522 suffered engine failure in June and missed several weeks as its Pontin's signwriting was also updated during its absence. 525 was reinstated briefly as a result and 526 later bolstered the fleet. 521/3/4 and 534 spent the year in store.

8 April 1993 saw the 40 resume and this time 521-526 were allocated with the second batch confirned to depot. During the summer side adverts for Opal Fruits were applied replacing the in house Travelcard adverts carried since the Routemasters were first repainted.

For 1994 the 40 started on 1st April and 527-531/3 were the featured vehicles. All had been repainted between December 1993 and February 1994, 527 emerging in Pontin's livery, relieving 522 which was painted red and white so it could sparkle in storage. 534 was returned to Burton's on 18 March 1994 after 832 days in store. On occasions the odd Routemaster appeared on route 14 in the summer - with blank blinds - as operation had been restricted to route 40 since 1992. 527-31/3 now had yellow and black blinds which only showed route 40 destinations.

6 November 1994 was the last day of the 40 as the takeover of Fylde by Blackpool saw efforts focused on Fylde's route 1 from 1995 and the Routemasters remained confined to depot. 1996 saw the Open Golf championship held at Royal Lytham St. Annes as part of the rotation around various courses in the UK. Four Park and Ride bus services would be in operation and it was decided to reactivate the Routemasters to help provide the necessary capacity.

All were prepared for service and on from July 1st they took-over route 21 (Tower- Zoo) with two buses required to bed them back in. On 6 July 521/5 did the honours and on 7 July 527/31 performed. 526/8/31 had to be drafted onto the Promenade to replace the tram service due to an emergency on 4 July.

525 seen on Blackpool Road, St. Annes while on Open Golf Park and Ride duty

Routemasters appeared for the Open Golf between Wednesday 17th and Sunday 21st July 1996 and all 12 vehicles made an appearance - 522 making its debut in its March 1994 paint job - surely a record. With the contest and services over, all 12 returned to store. They were renumbered 421-431/3 at the end of the month to release the 5xx series for minibuses absorbed with the Fylde business.

Routemaster 422, showing off its 1994 repaint without fleetname on the Zoo service in September 1996

August saw all 12 confined to depot but 421-424 were reactivated at the start of September to operate route 21 with 422/3 noted in use on the 1st. These four returned to store with their sisters with the end of the 21 for the season on 27 October. This Indian Summer also saw occasional journeys on route 14/14A by now extended to run form Fleetwood to St. Annes with one bus each day from 25 to 27th September with 422 noted once (as seen here). 422 was destined to be the last Routemaster to operate for Blackpool Transport when it was hired to Granada TV for a 'Gladrags' charity collection campaign in February 1997. This was cut short by the sale of the Routemasters so PD3 driver trainer 507 had to deputise.

With limited blinds, Routemasters had these basic posters in the front nearside window for the 21 during 1996

The Routemasters were advertised for sale in January 1997 and all 12 were purchased by Reading Mainline, who had built up a fleet of 32 on services in competition with Reading Buses. All 12 were painted into Reading's red and cream livery at Blackpool Transport from February.

This ended the career of the Blackpool Routemaster with 429, 431 and 433 the last to leave on 29 June. Over the previous 11 years the fleet spent almost as much time in store, on average active for 51% of their life in the fleet. Reading deployed the first buses to be collected almost immediately with former 523/4/6/8/30 all in service by May. Others were deployed more progressively with 525/7 not entering service until May 1998. 522 and 529 did not see service with Reading - 522 reportedly needed a replacement rear sub frame, perhaps reflecting accident damaged suffered in Blackpool in 1991.

Mainline was purchased by Reading Buses in 1998 and continued as a separate entity until 22nd June 2000. The Blackpool Routemasters, many converted to AEC engine were progressively withdrawn during 1999 and 2000 as the operation contracted but 36, 42 and 43 (526/31/3) all operated on the last day with 36 the official last bus back into depot.

Reading Mainline Fleet - click on Reading fleet number for a flickr picture

No	BT	Collected	Service	W/drn	Disposal	Final Engine	Current
33	530	9/3/97	15/3/97	1999	Preserved	AEC	London Heritage Travel
34	528	9/3/97	20/3/97	ea 2000	Royal Navy	AEC	London Bus Hire
35	524	23/3/97	2/4/97	2000	TfL	AEC	First London
36	526	30/3/97	12/4/97	22/7/00	TfL	AEC	First London
37	525	20/4/97	19/5/98	lt 1999	Farm	AEC	First London
38	523	20/4/97	15/5/97	99/2000	Brakell	AEC	First London
39	521	20/4/97	17/9/97	99/2000	Walkabout Inns	AEC	Preserved LTT
40	522	?/6/97	never	n/a	TfL	AEC	Preserved
41	527	?/6/97	19/5/98	99/2000	Export	Leyland	Poland
42	531	29/6/97	16/1/98	99/2000	TfL	AEC	East London
43	533	29/6/97	29/11/97	99/2000	TfL	Leyland	East London
44	529	29/6/97	never	n/a	McKindless	Leyland	London Bus Company

530 during its brief period in Preservation in its 1988 Promenade livery

Early disposals from Reading saw 530 pass into preservation in 2000 and it was eventually repainted into an approximation of the 1988 Beachroamer livery. It has since changed hands and is now back in PCV use with London Hertiage Travel of Rettendon on private hires. 528 passed to Royal Navy Sea Cadets and had its interior modified to represent a submarine as a recruitment vehicle. In 2009/10 it was restored to bus condition by a collector and sold to another vintage hire firm - London Bus Hire of Raglan, South Wales.
523 was sold into private ownership, 525 to a fruit farm in Kent, 521 to Walkabout Inns as a promotional bus, passing to LTT after a visit to Blackpool in March 2003. 527 was exported to Poland while 529 went to Mc Kindless of Wishaw before passing into Preservation and it is now operating with London Bus Company of Northfleet.

Return to London
Most of Reading's final Routemasters were purchased by Transport for London who were expanding bus services and needed more Routemasters. The spares donor 522, plus operational 524, 526, 531 and 533 went directly to TfL who also bought 523 and 525 from their owners

The Routemasters were sent to Marshals in Cambridge for refurbishment which included hopper windows replacing half drop windows and an interior refurbishment. New Cummins engines with Allison gearboxes were fitted and the first emerged in summer 2001 with London Sovereign on route 13 including 523, 526, 531 and 533.

December 2001/January 2002 saw 524 enter service with London Central on route 36 and 525 with First on route 23. 522 emerged last with an experimental gearbox and joined London United. 525 was one of a handful of buses wrapped in gold vinyl for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in March 2002 and reverted to red in December 2002. First painted it Silver in March 2004 to recreate its role in 1977 as part of the Queens Silver Jubilee fleet. Despite the investment in refurbished buses, Routemaster operation was run down from 2003 and 524 moved to First on route 23 in February 2003 and onto Arriva (route 38) in November. 522 also moved to Arriva having operated on the last day of route 9 with London United in September 2004.

522 returned to use in 2002 with London United. Between 1993 and 2002 it only saw service use between July and October 1996. It is seen at Aldwych operating route 9.

Route 13 ceased Routemaster operation on 21 October 2005 with former 531/3 in use. Route 38 ended on 28 October with 522 and 524 joined by 525 on loan from First in use. Mainstream Routemaster operation ended in December but two short heritage routes covering parts of the 9 and 15 started on 14 November 2005 with First London on the 9 with ten Routemasters including former Blackpool 523-526 (with 525 still in Silver) while 531/3 joined Stagecoach East London on the 15. 523/4/6/31/3 all saw service on the first day. London Bus Hire's 528 also put in a one-off appearance on the heritage routes in 2011 as part of a running day.

Since 2004 former 525 has carried its 1977 Silver Jubilee livery with First London. It is seen here on 25th July 2004 on its way to Finsbury Park for the RM 50 event.

Meanwhile 534 also returned to London. Burton's sold it to a non psv operator in 1996 and it was used to promote Motarola mobile phones. It was sold via a dealer to a private owner in 2000 and emerged restored to London red at Wisley bus rally in 2009. On New Years Day 2010 it featured on a running day in Southend on the license of Autocar, Tonbridge and remains active in their "Special Days Bus Hire" fleet.

521 partly repanelled and partly paint stripped while under restoration with LTT in 2004

Back in 1986 it was a surprise that Blackpool turned to the Routemaster, but its equally unexpected that six of its purchases are amongst the surviving Routemasters operating in Central London service (523-526, 531/3). LTT has preserved and restored 521 in Blackpool, while 522 is preserved in the London area restored to its 2002 condition. 527 may still be in Poland, 528, 529, 530 and 534 are in heritage operating fleets - 528 in South Wales and the other two in Greater London.

First trip out after repaint, but with finishing touches outstanding, 521 stands at the Fleetwood terminus of route 14

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T17:58:00.001Z

Happy new year to all readers and its time to thank those who have made contributions through the year, particularly my father Brian Turner for the supply of current and archive photos. If you have news or photos of interest, please drop me a line by email.

Over the last few days a Facebook page has been set up to allow those who wish to follow updates through Facebook to do so (providing I remember the notifications!) I have also modified the site settings and turned on a mobile version which should improve the blog's viewability on smartphones.

Today's news is that the second Manx Trident is nearing completion with what is believed to be former 50 (and BTS 344) outshopped in base fleet livery at Bus and Coach World with sisters 48 and 51 alongside awaiting a workshop slot. Solo 297 brought 2011 to an end as the final bus to return to depot off the 2C, Trident 318 was the final big bus.

The Return of the 9

2011-12-30T20:20:00.000Z

After 18 years, the 9 rejoined the Blackpool network in July 2010. Here 377 approaches Corporation Street terminus on the first day.

Today's service 9 has origins that date back to 1920, though the original service via Devonshire Road was replaced in 1959 and a new 9 involved into the developing Ingthorpe area until this ceased in 1992.

In June 1920 William Smith Motor Services introduced a bus service from Layton Cemetery Tram Terminus via Bispham Road to Bispham Village. It wasn't particularly frequent - in 1922 a two hourly service was advertised - but in 1923 it was extended via the tram route along Talbot Road to Talbot Mews - the predecessor to Talbot Road Bus Station.

The route was later extended to Carr Road via All Hallows Road. The Corporation took over in 1926 and briefly merged the service with the Adelaide Place to Layton service (via Caunce Street) and extended the route to Norbreck. This took service number 9 but was quickly cut back to run from Talbot Mews to Carr Road. In 1927 a short extension along Fleetwood Road took the 9 to Mossom Lane and then in 1930 it was extended to Cleveleys Beach via Fleetwood Road, Bispham Road and Victoria Road. Two buses provided a half hourly service. From 1934 double deckers were used.

PD3 507 in 1930s livery heads along Devonshire Road while operating service 22 over the section which replaced route 9 in 1959.

1937 saw a controversial summer extension to Fleetwood which provoked legal challenge from Ribble. Blackpool ran via Rossall Road, Broadway, Queens Hotel, Poulton Road and Lord St to Queens Terrace every 20 minutes with the year round service to Cleveleys now showing service 9A. In 1938 the route was split with the Fleetwood workings (9) serving Bispham Village and the Cleveleys workings (9A) serving Devonshire Road. In Winter the Bispham Village workings showed 9B and terminated at Cleveleys! The Fleetwood extension was suspended for the war, but never resumed, leaving the 9A/9B as year round services. A combined 15 minute service was provided form 1939, dropping to 20 minutes in 1942 due to war time economies - this needed 3 buses. 1951 saw a diversion in Anchorsholme via Valeway Avenue, North Drive and Anchorsholme Lane and the service frequency grew to a combined 10 minutes with six buses allocated.

October 1959 saw a major network recast in the North of the town. Route 22 (Halfway House to Bispham) absorbed the Bispham to Cleveleys sections of the 9A and 9B (the latter as 22A) - this route had duplicated the 9A/B form Blackpool to Bispham and this rationalisation seemed sensible. However at peak times a higher frequency was desired so a 10 minute shuttle service from North Station to Bispham Clinic was provided - showing number 9 operating from 7am to 9am and 12noon to 7pm using 3 buses. By summer 1960 the 9 was running all day but in October it was revised once again into the 9A and 9B!

The new 9A provided a daily 20 minute service from North Station to Ingthorpe Estate (Ashfield Road near Briarwood Drive) running from Bispham Clinic via Ingthorpe Avenue and Ashfield Road. It was supplemented by the 9B at peak times (same hours as the 9 in 1959) which ran along Devonshire Road to Russell Avenue - it was later extended to Norbreck.

In 1963 the routes were rationalised into a single service 9 again - prior to reaching Bispham the buses diverting at Moor Park via Bristol Avenue onto Ashfield Road, then as the inbound 9A route along Ingthorpe Avenue to Bispham then the 9B route via Devonshire Road, Guildford Road, Norbreck Road, Fleetwood Road to terminate near the borough boundary at Anchorsholme Lane junction. The 9 now ran into the Bus Station, rather than from the Railway Station across the road. 3 buses allowed a 20 minute frequency to be provided. The development of the Ingthorpe estates saw frequent changes. Route 8 via Dickson Road and Warbreck Drive took over the Norbreck section in summer 1965 and the 9 terminated at Bispham Village with only 2 buses now needed. By the Autumn, the 9 had been diverted away from Bispham Village and carried on along Ashfield Road to Fairfax Avenue.

In 1970 the route was converted to one man operation using AEC Swifts and was extended to the College of Technology further along the developing Ashfield Road. The extra running time saw a 24 minute service provided to retain the requirement for two buses. 1973 saw the completion of Ashfield Road and the 9 now served the Sevenoakes Estate -terminating on estate roads at Grassington Place - a third Swift was allocated to allow a 20 minute frequency to be provided. Meanwhile route 7C (Blackpool to Anchorsholme via Warbreck Drive and Bispham) had been diverted through Ingthorpe Estate and was extended to Cleveleys in 1967.

1975 saw the 7C and 9 rationalised with the 7C terminating at "Whiteholme" - once known as "Haddle House Estate", but really Anchorsholme and only just round the corner from Sevenoakes - the terminus being the junction of Anchorsholme Lane and Luton Road. From 1982 this became route 8 and Fylde took it over at deregulation. Route 9 was now extended from Grassington Place to Cleveleys and once again split into the 9A and 9B! The 9A which ran daily used Sevenoakes Drive and Anchorsholme Lane in full, the 9B (weekdays only) used Warren Drive, North Drive, Luton Road and Anchorsholme Lane. Both ran every 40 minutes and four vehicles were now required.

Atlantean 324 in the customary pose at Cleveleys Bus Station during the period when buses faced outwards - OK for PD3s with their rear door but a somewhat less user friendly when Atlanteans appeared.

Atlanteans took over most workings from 1977 and in 1982 the route was simplified with all journeys running via Sevenoakes Drive. Route 9 was reintroduced, the 9B dropped but the 9A was now used to signify journeys that ran via North Drive and Victoria Road instead of the full length of Anchorsholme Lane.

1987 and the 9 had returned to crew operation - though usually still with Atlanteans such as 307 (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

At deregulation this pattern continued - 4 Atlanteans provided the daytime service with a combined 20 minute headway. In the evening a half hourly service was provided - interworked with the 22/22A at Cleveleys whilst on Sundays a 40 minute frequency ran. Amazingly, though, in January 1987 crew operation was reinstated after 17 years! The running time was cut from 31 to 26 minutes allowing a 15 minute service to be provided. PD3s and occasionally Routemasters joined the established Atlanteans on the route.

Fylde Renault 125 loads in Cleveleys Bus Station on competing service 66A which largely followed the 9 to Blackpool but did penetrate some of the local housing areas en route (Dave Hatcher)

Fylde was starting to stretch its muscles having won the tender for route 8 to Whiteholme and soon extended it to Cleveleys and double the frequency to every 30 minutes. By 1988 it was running through to Lytham. Also in November 1987 Fylde started a minibus route (66) along the 9 route to Sevenoakes, but diverting down many of the estate roads. In April this was extended to Cleveleys giving Fylde six buses per hour from Ashfield Road to Cleveleys compared to Blackpool's four! Blackpool introduced the 9C (Bus Station to College at peak times and lunch times) as part response.

City Pacers ruled the roost on route 9 from August 1988 to its merger with the 12 in March 1992. Here 551 heads to Corporation Street - terminus for the route in 1989 (Dave Hatcher)

Not one to take the attack lying down, Blackpool converted the 9 to Handybus minibus operation from August 1988 and standardised the route omitting Moor Park Avenue (using Bispham Road and Bristol Road) and Victoria Road West (all buses ran via Anchorsholme Lane). 8 City Pacers provided a 7/8 minute service during the day and a 15 minute service at night with all departures extended to Corporation St in Blackpool Town Centre. The 22A was also diverted via Ashfield Road between Bispham and Cleveleys to reinforce the 9s.

Delta 115 awaits time on route 12, which had replaced the 9 in March 1992 (Dave Hatcher)

In 1990 the Corporation St section was withdrawn and in March 1992 the 9 was replaced by an extended 12 using Optare Delta single deckers on a 15 minute St. Annes to Cleveleys service. Fylde cut its minibus service to half hourly in April but extended route 11A to Cleveleys via the 12 route. When the two companies merged in 1994 the 12 was cut to half hourly - the 11/11A/12 making a combined 10 minute service between St. Annes and Cleveleys, albeit two per hour serving Warbreck Drive as service 11 - all three routes used double deckers again. The 22/22A continued every 15 minutes too. Briefly in 1998/9 the 12 was extended to Fleetwood once per hour - shades of the 9 in the 1930s. The service switched back to single deckers again in 1999

Line 11 was a haunt of Deltas for all its nine year life under the Metro banner

The Metro network change in April 2001 saw the 11, 11A, 12 and parts of the 22/22A merged into a single service "Line 11" from Lytham to Cleveleys. This ran via Talbot Road, Layton, Benson Road, Bispham Road to Bispham Library, then Ingthorpe Avenue, Ashfield Road, Sevenoakes Drive, Anchorsholme Lane, North Drive and Victoria Road West to Cleveleys. Today it is operated a mix of Deltas and low floor Tridetns with help from Olympians and the odd Excel and Solo with a bus every 7/8 minutes. Line 3 replaced the 11 route via Warbreck Drive and the ex Fylde minibus route (by then the 33), while Line 7 replaced the 22/22A north of Bispham. Line 11 continued largely unchanged on its northern end - other than the odd tweak of the running time and evening/Sunday frequency change until the post Metro network change of July 2010.

26 July 2010 saw the 11 split with the Blackpool to Cleveleys section replaced by new service 9 which operated every 10 minutes on weekday days, every 20 on Sunday days and every 30 each evening using 9 buses (3 evenings, 4 Sundays). It initially started from Corporation Street but the Town Centre terminus moved to Clifton Street on 30 August. Since then it has received minor timetable changes with a reduction of the Sunday evening service to hourly in May 2011 and a reduced evening running time of 29 minutes from June. The route is normally operated by Dennis Tridents, though single deckers tend to take over at weekends as the Tridents are required for Promenade service 1. Step entrance Olympians are quite common too. Route 9 has settled back into the network - almost as if it had never been replaced in the first place.

First day of new route 9 saw 310 in service

Fleet Review 2011

2011-12-30T15:29:00.000Z

Olympians 368 and 369 are the oldest buses to receive the new fleet livery - both were painted in 2011.

During 2011, the Blackpool Transport fleet has continued to contract. At the start of the year 156 buses were in the active fleet comprising:

67 double deckers (40 Tridents and 27 Olympians)
31 single deckers (17 Excels and 14 Volvo B7s)
58 minibuses (57 Solos and 1 Metrorider)

The year ended with 149 active vehicles with a net reduction of seven, comprising one Olympian, six Solos and the sole Metrorider, offset by Trident 343. The open top fleet also shrunk by one with 4 used in 2010 (with a fifth in store) but only 3 in 2011 (and a fourth in store).

518 was the final Metrorider to operate in service with Blackpool Transport, finishing its active life on service 15 on 27 January and was later sold for scrap

Disposals
In January 2011 BT also owned 16 stored buses: Deltas 101/2, 119, 122/3/5/6, 132/3, Atlantean 364, Olympians 365-367, 401 and 403 plus open topper 813. Of these 364 has been available for events but not used commercially. 365 and 403 returned to use in September 2011 while the remainder were disposed of. Additionally Solos 261-266 were withdrawn between February and May, Metrorider 518 in January and Olympians 404 and 409 in January and 406 in November. Most were sold leaving just 364, 366, 406 in store, along with the open toppers.
Dates of sale were:

March 2011 - Deltas 101 and 133 (preserved)
April 2011 - Open Top 813 (Padarn Bus)
May 2011 - 261/2/4 (Centrebus), 263/5/6 (Holmeswood Coaches)
June 2011 - Delta 132, Olympian 367 and 404, Metrorider 518 (scrap)
July 2011 - Delta 126 (scrap)
September 2011 - Delta 123/5 (scrap)
October 2011 - Deltas 102, 119, 122 and Olympian 409 (scrap)

Excel 226 is currently away at Cummins in Stockton to receive a new engine

Refurbishments

Excel refurbishments continued. 224 started the year at Cummins after repaint and refurbishment in Blackpool. It returned in January and was back in use at the end of February. The third ex Go North East example to be treated was 221 which left for Cummins on 20 January and returned in late June and returned to use on 10 September. October saw body refurbishment commence and it it was repainted during December and returned to service around 17th.

221 was replaced by 222 at Cummins and returned on 14 October prior to repaint and return to use on 2 December. 226 went in exchange and remains away. 223 and 225 are the only two to retain the original specification engine.

Trident 343 arrived in Blackpool at the start of December having been refurbished by Bus and Coach World. It is the first of eleven expected from Bus Vannin on the Isle of Man

No new vehicles have been purchased, however the first of 11 Dennis Tridents from Bus Vannin on the Isle of Man arrived in early December and entered service on 30th. It was imported in July and was refurbished with a new front at Bus and Coach World, Blackburn. Originally 53 EMN53Y it is now Blackpool 343 and is registered H1FBT using the registration from former Delta 131. Sister bus 50 EMN50Y was delivered to Blackburn in early November following withdrawal with roof damage on the Island. December saw 48 and 51 (EMN48/51Y) arrive at Blackburn - 48 having been out of use for most of 2011 but 51 is a more recent withdrawal from Bus Vannin.

Also visiting Bus and Coach World were Olympians 375-379 which have been fitted with seat belts to operate primary school baths contracts to Palatine and Moor Park swimming pools. All five were repainted, but sister 374 has not been treated either to the new livery or fitted with seatbelts. It is normally the only one to appear on local services now.

285 is one of 12 Solos to receive the new fleet livery during 2011

Repaints
No less than 34 buses have been repainted during 2011 - plus 343 at Bus and Coach World
January - Trident 329, 336
February - Trident 327/8
March - Solo 255, Trident 325
April - Trident 324, 326, Olympian 369
May - Solo 284/5
June - Solo 250, 286, Olympian 368
July - Solo 287, 291 Trident 322/3, Olympian 379
August - Trident 338
September - Solo 251, 292, Tridents 310, 339
October - Olympians 375-378
November - Excel 222, Solo 252/3 (plus Trident 343)
December - Excel 210, 221, Solo 254

322 was the final vehicle to operate in Line 11 colours and is seen here at the end of June shortly before entering the paint shop.

These repaints saw off Line 11 livery with 322 the last bus to operate so attired on 5 July and Line 16 with 292 last used in September. Line 10 livery was eradicated by 518s withdrawal on 27th January.

Elderly Leyland Olympians saw regular service on seasonal route 20 including the hitherto little seen on service work 411-417. 411 leaves Blackpool Zoo

Livery Summary
New Livery: Excels 210/1, 214, 221/2/4, Solos 250-255, 284-293, Trident 310, 322-343, Olympians 368/9, 375-379, Volvo 520-533 (66)
Old Pool Livery: Excels 218-220/3, Solos 273-283, Tridents 317-9, Olympians 370-374 (23)
Line 1 Orange/Yellow: Olympians 365, 402/3, 405, 407/8 410-17 (14)
Line 2 Green/Yellow: Solos 240-247, 249, 294 (10)
Line 3 Blue/Yellow: Solos 258-260, 295-7 (6)
Line 4 Cadbury Blue/Yellow: Solos 267-269, 271/2 (5)
Line 5 Red/Yellow: Solos 248, 256/257 (3)
Line 7 Purple/Yellow: Excels 212/3/5-7, 225/6 (7)
Line 14 Dark Green/Yellow: Tridents 301-309/311-316 (15)
City Sightseeing: Olympians 818, 857, 873 (3)

See the Blog Page on the right hand menu bar for the current fleet list.

Snow Condition for a Bus Service

2011-12-30T11:01:00.001Z

14 December 1981 and PD3 523 is trying to maintain a service on otherwise Swift operated route 12, but has become stuck at the Airport terminus

30 years ago, Blackpool witnessed one of its most severe periods of winter weather. Tram enthusiasts will be familiar with the period as it involved the memorable sight of three coupled Balloons charging snow drifts on the tramway. Snow started falling on Sunday 13th December and by midnight was around a foot deep in places.

The Swifts were confined to the depot on the 14th as their rear engine layout gave them poorer weight distribution than the PD3s. Here the Diamond T tow wagon poses with 569 549 and 594.

On Monday 14th December the town was a white out, pretty much deserted save for the odd intrepid bus and tram photographer. It was not possible to run the morning bus service but from 1000 a handful of PD3s emerged to provide a tram replacement service from Starr Gate to Fleetwood, service 12 along Lytham Road and part of the 22 between Blackpool and Halfway House. Later it was possible to run routes 7/7A and 26, albeit the former didn't serve Dickson Road but used the Prom. Only PD3s emerged with the Swifts and Atlanteans confined to the depot as it was felt the front engined buses were a safer bet for grip in the challenging conditions.

PD3 508 heads through the slush and snow near the Metropole on the tram replacement service. Sisters 515 and 518 were also seen in use on 14th.

Tuesday saw further routes added with Swifts and Atlanteans returned to service. Several routes had diversions to avoid estate roads where they were still blocked, either by snow or abandoned cars. Wednesday saw services reinstated to routes 14 and 16 and by Thursday things were returning to normal on the bus front. The trams had resumed between North Pier and Ash Street on Tuesday afternoon, but buses were required to cover on the southern section for a few more days.

Conditions had improved enough to reinstate more routes, and the Swifts, on the Tuesday. Here is 550 back in action on route 26 on Clifton Street.

343 Hits the Road

2011-12-30T10:29:00.001Z

343 is in service for the first time today - seen in poor weather at Layton Square on the 1415 Grange Park to Lytham service 11 working.

The first of the ex Bus Vannin Tridents 343 (H1FBT) entered service this morning on route 11 (Lytham to Grange Park). It was withdrawn from service on the Island as 53 (EMN53Y) in July and since then has been refurbished and refronted by Bus and Coach World at Blackburn. 343 was allocated to service 14 this morning but developed a fault on its positioning run and returned to depot, but was passed fit to enter service on route 11 at around 9am, presumably as a change over to work the 0922 Rigby Road to Lytham journey.
Sisters 48, 50 and 51 are currently on site at Blackburn.

343 alongside one of the 1990s Blackpool Transport shelters, many of which have now been replaced

A number of unusual workings today have seen Olympians 368, 370-3 allocated to service 7 and four Excels operate service 17 including 211 and 219. Yesterday saw Excel 210 return to service on the 2/2C for the first time after repaint.

Blackpool and the Atlantean

2011-12-27T12:36:00.003Z

305 - one of the first batch of Atlanteans showing off the original livery at Borough Boundary

Blackpool’s affair with the Leyland Atlantean began in 1975 when orders were placed for two batches of twelve East Lancs bodied buses. This was later modified to three batches of ten each but it was not until July 1977 that the first arrived with 301-304 licensed on 5 July (as BFR301-4R) followed by 305-310 as CBV305-10S, licensed at the beginning of August. Unusually they were long wheelbase examples at 33ft (3ft longer than a PD3 but shorter than a Swift) and seated 86 with 50 accommodated upstairs.

Manager Derek Hyde told the Gazette in November 1976 that the all-over cream livery would be “too much of a good thing” on the double deckers and was planning a new livery based on green and cream. The eventual scheme of cream with green roof, top deck windows, narrow band above the lower windows and a broad band on the lower panels was influenced by Southampton Corporation.

The initial batch were deployed in OPO format on routes 7/7A (Bispham Circular) and crew form alongside PD3s on their varied duties including the 5/5A, 6, 11/11A, 11C, 14 and 22/22A.

Brand new 329 in Rigby Road Depot in September 1979. Behind is a Preston Corporation Panther on loan due to vehicle shortages

The second batch – 311-320 (JFV311-20S) entered service in July 1978 with batch three 321-330 (URN321-30V) following in September 1979. Further batches were ordered with 331-340 (AHG331-40V) entering service in June 1980 and 341-350 (GHG341-50W) arriving between 8 May (344/8) and w/e 20 June (341/2) all entering service between 25 May and 22 June.

362 - the last bus seated Atlantean competes for attention with the mayoral car when still nearly new in December 1983

The delivery first 50 Atlanteans coincided with a reduction of the overall fleet from 143 in 1976 to 117 in 1981. They mainly replaced PD3s with 61 leaving the fleet but the period also saw disposal of the first Swifts. Another 14 Atlanteans joined the fleet in 1982-1984. 351-354 (UHG351-4Y) arrived in July 1982 and entered service in early August. They seated 85 with a single seat omitted behind the staircase. 355-362 (A355-62HHG) arrived in mid August 1983 and entered service soon after. They also seated 85 but featured two leaf rather than four leaf doors.

Finally 363/4 (B363/4UBV) arrived and entered service week ending 22nd September 1984 – only Fylde 75 (B75URN) entered service later than this pair on 1st October as one of only four B-reg Atlanteans (Merseyside 1070 being the other). Unusually for the Blackpool fleet they featured high back semi coach seats which reduced the number of seats which could be accommodated. The total capacity was 74, with 45 upstairs and 29 downstairs as the rear facing seats over the rear wheelarches were omitted in favour of luggage pens. The body design featured a single piece upper deck front window and dropped leading edge to the first side window. The livery was modified with cream with green roof and skirt with two lime green bands as illustrated.

The two coach seated Atlanteans 363/4 arrived in this unusual livery. Note the revised front. When not used on private hires they were often used on route 12

With all 64 in service out of a fleet of 109 the Atlantean accounted for over half the fleet with just 11 PD3s, 26 Swifts, 4 Lancets and 4 National 2s making up the numbers.

The Atlanteans were widely used. Prior to deregulation they were commonly found on routes 5/5A, 6, 7/7A, 9/9A, 10, 11/A, 11C, 12, 14, 21, 22/22A and 26 with buses used in crew form on the 5/A, 14 and 22/22A, plus the 6 to 1980 and 11C to 1983. Additionally they ran on school services and special work such as a free bus to Blackpool Pleasure Beach which occupied 302 with promotional lettering during June/July 1982. Occasional mishaps beset the buses – most notably 303 which was driven under Rigby Road bridge on February 21 1981 and lost its roof. This low bridge next to the depot was out of bounds to double deckers, but all buses were then banned until the bridge was raised in 1985.

An unusual exchange in 1985 saw 351 and 352 operate with West Yorkshire PTE for a few weeks in exchange for their 6299/300 (PUA299/300W). This was part of the Tramway Centenary events as they carried commemorative liveries for Huddersfield Transport buses and trams respectively. Blackpool numbered them 366/7 and 352 was swapped for 366 at an event at Crich on 9 June and returned on 1st August. 351 and 367 were exchanged between 16 June and 31 July. [Flickr link: 352 in Huddersfield]

Withdrawals and Disposals Part 1

Three Atlanteans were destined for a short life with Blackpool for on 1st October 1986 a fire started in the depot yard on 310 and spread to 335 and 342 with sisters 340 and 362 receiving minor damage as they were shunted out of the way before the fire spread. The disfigured remains were kept in store until they were removed for scrap in June 1987.

Fire damaged Atlanteans 342, 310 and 335 (left to right) stored in the depot prior to disposal

Routine withdrawals commenced in April/May 1989 when 301-307 were laid up replaced by new Olympians. Only 305 saw further use – standing in for fire damaged 350 between November 1989 and March 1990. 308/9, 311/2/4 were also withdrawn in March 1990 following the introduction of Deltas to the 23-25. 305-309 were the first to leave – to Norfolk’s Nayland in May 1990. 301/2/4 then went to Liverline, Liverpool in June with 303 going to Toxteth Community Council joining PD3s 511/38.

Also 314 was reinstated, 311/2 did not run for Blackpool again but lasted in store until sale in August 1991 to North Devon Red Bus. 313 was withdrawn in October 1990 with 314 again in May 1991 – both passing to Blue Bus, Horwich in August 1991.

315-317 came off in October 1991 but were reinstated in December to release Routemasters from route 12. February 1993 saw 315-323/5/6 withdrawn but they were reinstated in June 1993 for a few weeks. Several also ran in April for a shuttle bus contract for a Rotary International conference. 316, 317, 321-323, 325 and 326 returned to use in September while advertising liveried 324 was withdrawn. All but 326 were withdrawn once again in November. 315/6 went to Eastbourne Buses in January while 317-321 were sold to North Birmingham Busways a month later. 323/4 later returned to use but by November 1994 322-327 had moved to Fylde, joined by 328-330 in March 1995. [Flickr link 316 at Eastbourne]

The Fylde Inheritance
Fylde was purchased by Blackpool in May 1994 and at the time operated 52 Atlanteans including four rebodied as single deckers. 18 were Northern Counties example new to Fylde between 1975 and 1984 plus the sole survivor of three new to Lytham in 1970; 18 were Roe bodied dating from 1970-1973 and acquired by Fylde from Kingston-upon-Hull City Transport between 1986 and 1993; 9 were 1976/7 vintage Northern Counties bodied buses new to Greater Manchester and the last two were a 1965 built Metro Cammell open topper new to Salford and a 1978 built Northern Counties bus new to AA of Ayr. By this time Blackpool had sold 23 of its 64 buses, but attention now turned to replacing the Fylde examples as only six of Fylde’s were younger than Blackpool’s oldest.

With Fylde taken over, Blackpool adopted the Fylde livery layout but with a cream base relived by green for Blackpool buses and cream for Fylde buses. Here is former Fylde 69 in February 1997 in the Fylde version, but after Blackpool had fully absorbed its subsidiary, hence the Blackpool series fleet number 469.

Blackpool transferred 322-327 and 364 to Fylde in November 1994 which replaced four of the ex Manchester and two of the ex Hull buses. Also transferred in were 328-330 in March 1995 and 331/4 in April 1996 to cover additional contract work. Blackpool absorbed Fylde in July 1996 and inherited the 46 surviving Atlanteans – and reclaimed the 12 transferred in. The new fleet comprised:

Single deckers 134-137 (TKU462/5/6/9K)
Northern Counties coach seated 441-445 (HIL5341/2/5943, NJI5504/5) Northern Counties bus seated 450 (HRN100N), 458 (ATD281J), 465-9 (ONF660/9/73R, SRJ756/7R), 470 (TSD571S), 471-4 (OJI4371-4), 475 (SIB8405), 478/9/81-3 (HRN98/9,101-3N), 495 (RHG95T), 496 (XHG96V) – 465-9 being the new to Manchester buses, 470 was new to AA and 458 to Lytham
Roe bodied closed toppers 449 (ARH314K), 456 (WRH291J), 459 (ARH301K), 486-493 (MIW8186-8, RIB4089/6590, IIL4291, NIW6492, ARH306K)
Roe bodied open toppers 452-454/7 (TKH266H, WRH294J, ARH304K, WRH295J) plus open rear balcony 455 (ARH304K)
Metro Cammell bodied open topper 451 (DBA227C).
449, 451-459, 486, 490/1/3 were type PDR1A/1 (451 PDR1/1) rather than the later AN68 type.

The buses retained Fylde numbers initially – those above being the Blackpool numbers (with 130 added to the single deckers and 400 to the double deckers). As an aside 322-331/4 kept Blackpool numbers with Fylde but 364 was renumbered 47 and surprisingly became 447 after the merger, though it regained 364 after repaint back into green and cream in May 1997. Also renumbered was 450 which became 480 in July to group it with its sisters 478-483.

Fylde had adopted a blue and cream livery which was carried by 442, 449, 451/4-6/8/9, 465/9/70, 473/8/9, 481-3, 486, 488-493 while 134-7, 443-445, 447 466/8 and 474 retained two tone blue. Adverts 441, 450, 452/3/7 471/2/5, 495/6 carried all-over adverts with the front in either blue and cream or green and cream, while 467 had been painted into Blackpool livery prior to the take-over.

Withdrawals and Disposals Part 2
331-337 were stored from April 1995, but were back in use by June 1995. Priority was to replace former Fylde buses. Between October 1996 and April 1997 449, 451, 456-459, 486/8, 490/1/3 were withdrawn. Open toppers 452-5 and damaged closed topper 487 came off in late 1998. February 1999 saw 465-470, 481, 489 and 492 withdrawn but 466/9 were later reinstated. East Lancs 322/3 also became driver trainers 922/923 that summer. These were not the first to be so used as 332/3 were used to train drivers for London General between December 1995 and September 1996 with 333 continuing to be so used until January 1997. Blackpool Transport was one of a number of provincial firms to train new local recruits for London operators who couldn’t obtain enough drivers in London.

Former Fylde 75 in its later guise as Blackpool 475 heads along the Promenade to work a school service in Lytham St. Annes in March 2004 a few months before withdrawal

Withdrawals and disposals continued in 2000 with 466, 478, 482 and 496 leaving while in early 2002 469, 479/80/3 were withdrawn. May saw nine new low floor Dennis Tridents arrived to replace Fylde 441 and 495 plus East Lancs bodied 324-7/9-332, with 328/38 following in July. The 2003 Tridents saw off 333/4, 336/7, 339-341, 343-9 and 442, while the 2004 batch replaced the last ex Fylde Atlanteans 443-445, 471-5 leaving Blackpool with just 15 Atlanteans (350-364).

136 is one of four Atlanteans which Fylde had rebodied with Northern Counties Paladin single deck bodywork in 1993. They struggled to find a purpose with Blackpool Transport and were sold in 1999. 1998 saw a period of use on Promenade service 1 on which 136 is seen departing Pontins.

The single deckers (134-137) were parked up at the end of October 1997 still in Fylde livery but were reinstated in December 1997. 134/6 went back into use but 135/7 were painted green and cream before use – 134/6 soon following. Despite this, they were withdrawn again at the end of March 1998, but returned to use at the start of May to release double deckers from summer services 1 (Promenade) and 21 (Zoo). December 1998 saw the quartet return to store but they emerged again in June for the summer services lasting until the end of August when they were withdrawn, departing on 30 October 1999 collected by Wacton – a Bromyard based dealer and operator.

Of the double deckers, disposals were varied with most of the East Lancs buses seeing further service, while the Northern Counties ones usually went for non psv work. Typically the older Roe bodied examples were scrapped while in May 2003, 333 became the first routine withdrawal of the East Lancs examples to be sent for scrap. Other than 333 and the fire victims all others of 301-349 saw further use.

Of the last 15, 350/1 spent several months in store in early 2005 but were not withdrawn until December 2005. More Tridents saw off 352/4-6/9 in June 2006 and 353, 357, 360-2 followed by August. A farewell event on 28/29 October saw 358, 360-2 return to use for the weekend, alongside 363/4. The latter pair remained in service while the others returned to store. Surprisingly 353 and 360 returned to use in January 2007 (though 358 soon replaced 360 in February). Final withdrawal for 353, 358 and 363 came in July 2008 with 364 soldiering on alone until October 2009. Since then it has remained in the fleet as a heritage bus for events only. Trainers 922/3 (ex 322/3) lasted until February 2007 and December 2006 respectively.

Repaints
Routine repaints commenced in July 1980 and all of 301-362 received a full repaint in the original livery except for 304 and 358 which received all-over adverts as their first repaint. The vehicles were treated:
• 301-310 between July 1980 and March 1981
• 311-320 between July 1981 and March 1982
• 321-330 between August 1982 and March 1983
• 331-340 between June and November 1983
• 341-350 between August 1985 and c Jan 1986
• 351-362 between May 1986 and February 1987
• 301-320 were treated again between November 1983 and August 1985

308 shows off the experimental version of fleet livery with green rather than cream skirt in 1984 which it retained until its next repaint July 1988

The standard livery was varied twice. Firstly 308 was outshopped with a green skirt, rather than cream in May 1984, followed by 313 in September – though this was not adopted routinely. Five more (302/3, 316/7, 321) received green skirts, but also orange and yellow stripes to promote ‘Shuttle 6’ a marketing initiative on route 6 at the end of 1984. Several buses received all-over adverts
304: Hounds Hill May 1982; Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Health Authority November 1985; Hitachi April 1987 and to new fleet livery August 1989 (as a withdrawn bus)
312: Fylde Coast Rover April 1984; Louis Tussauds April 1986 and to new livery August 1988
314: Red Rose Rambler July 1982; Lancashire Bus Pass July 1984 to original fleet livery December 1986
326: Y-Fronts March 1984; back to original livery August 1985
358: Allied Carpets September 1985; Travelcard December 1986; Mackeson Stout May 1989 and back to fleet livery

324 newly outshopped in the new fleet livery in October 1987 using the earlier shades of green and cream, rather than off-white as used on the earlier Atlantean livery and the passing Swift. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

A new livery of deep cream with green roof, window surrounds and skirt was adopted in 1987 – launched on Olympians 365-367 but soon rolled out onto Atlanteans. The first repaint was 316 in March 1987 quickly followed by 302/3/17/21 by June – eradicating the Shuttle 6 livery. 304 received an advertising livery in April. 301/5/6 received the new Super 6 livery in September and by the end of the year 18 Atlanteans had been treated to the new livery: 302, 303, 307, 315, 316, 317, 321, 322, 323, 324, 327, 329, 330, 332, 333, 337, 339, 340.

1988 saw attention focus on completing the second repaints of 321-340 with 325/6/8 outshopped between April and September, 331/4/6/8 between March and July. The third repaints of 301-320 progressed with 308/9, 311-314, 318-320 all treated by September. March saw 347/9 become the first of batch five to be repainted into the new livery and the nine survivors had been treated by November. 351-4 were painted between October and December 1988 while 363/4 lost their coach livery in favour of the new bus livery in December.

The 1983 batch was treated between November 1988 and April 1989. The last three (360-362, plus Travelcard livery 358 and already painted 321) were all outshopped in all-over adverts for Mackeson Stout in April 1989. This completed the programme, but surprisingly in August/September 301-307 were all repainted despite being stored in reserve – 301/4-6 received the new livery for the first time, but only 305 would wear it in service as this was reinstated for winter 1989/90 before disposal in May. Also repainted in autumn 1989 were 315-317, 322-324.

Repaints took place again from September 1990, though the Stout buses lost their advertising liveries (362 for Bonanza Family restaurant, the rest for fleet livery). 327-333, 337-340 and 354 all received routine repaints before the end of the year. This continued with 325/6, 334/6/9, 341/3/5-8, 350, 352-355 treated in 1991 and 356/7/9, 363/4 by April 1992. 324 gained Shoemarket livery but the next fleet liveried repaint – 329 again – in October 1992 saw it emerge with black window surrounds as introduced on the Optare Deltas. Over the next two years 25 Atlanteans were treated to this revised version: 316, 324, 327-334, 336-40, 344/6/9, 350/2, 356/8, 360-2 – 346 was the last treated in October 1994

Atlantean 351 puts in a turn on seasonal service 20 in 2004. When new 351-364 had recessed destination glasses, but these tended to let in water and many later received rubber mounted ones as shown here. 353, 361 and 364 retained their original apertures until withdrawal.

The takeover of Fylde saw a revised livery using their style but in green and cream for Blackpool and blue and cream for Fylde adopted. Initial repaints in October saw 351 and 353 receive fronts in the new scheme with Zone Card adverts on the rear. 345 was the first full green and cream repaint in November. 322-327 went to Fylde and 322/5-7 had their livery modified to the blue and cream variant (over-painting green with blue or cream as appropriate. 323/4 were painted white with blue/cream fronts, 323 later gaining full livery but 324 received an advert. 328-330 were similarly partly repainted into blue and cream in March/April 1995 on transfer. 364 received a full repaint in Fylde two tone blue which was retained for Seagull Coaches operations and it joined that sub fleet as number 47.

The transfers left 331-334, 336-341, 343-362 in the Blackpool fleet. Routine repaints into the new livery commenced in January 1995 with 348. 334/6/9/40, 343/4/7/50, 354/5/7/8 361/3 were also treated by the end of the year – plus 331 and 341 as all-over adverts for North West Lancashire Health Authority and Travelcard respectively. Spring 1996 saw 352 and 362 completed, but then attention turned to repaints out of Fylde colours. Ex Fylde buses 441/4 466-8 475 487 496 were treated in 1996, along with 326/8/9 and the sold repaint out of the old green and cream livery was 360. 1997 saw 443/5, 471/2 and 492 repainted before April 1997 before the livery was modified on these buses to feature a more shallow skirt. 442 453-5, 465/9, 470/3/4, 478/9, 481-3, 487/9 were so treated between June 1997 and January 1998. East Lancs 322/3/5/7, 330 also lost blue and cream in the same period while 332, 346, 351/3/8 received routine repaints – some treated for the second time.

The old livery was last observed in 1998 with 349 painted out in February, 356 in June and finally 358 in July. Several vehicles received second repaints into green/cream from then until 327 emerged in January 2001 – the last full Atlantean repaint and unusually omitting the black window surrounds. Prior to this two further ex Fylde buses received fleet livery ex all-over adverts – 495 in August 1998 and 480 in November 1999. Internally buses were rarely modified, though some had non standard seat coverings fitted sporadically. Early vehicles had leatherette trim edging to the yellow, brown and black moquette. Coach seated 363/4 were treated to full seat retrims in 1999 using an NBC style orange pattern

Only a handful of new to Blackpool Atlanteans went directly for scrap. Other than 310/35/42 in 1987 seven East Lancs examples went for scrap: 333 in July 2003, 355/9 in July 2006 323 (ex training duties) in July 2007, 352/60 in April 2009 and 363 in July 2009. Of the Fylde examples 441, 456/7/9, 469, 473, 480, 483, 486-488, 490/1/3 all went directly for scrap. A handful of examples were sold for preservation – 322, 331, 334, 337, 353, 362, 445, 454, 458, 471, 479 and 496 though 331, 337 and 454 have since been scrapped; 322 is of unknown status and 496 now in non psv ownership

306 with Hedingham Omnibuses Nayland base in June 1991 still in Blackpool livery which it retained with Norfolks who acquired 305-309 in May 1990 prior to takeover by Hedingham the following year

The 1990 to 1994 disposals were shared between Liverline Liverpool (301/2/4), Toxteth Community Council (303), Norfolks of Nayland (305-309), North Devon (311/2), Blue Bus, Horwich (313/4), Eastbourne Buses (315/6) and North Birmingham Buses (317-321). The Liverline buses moved to Sheffield Omnibuses in 1992 and the Norfolks buses were absorbed by Hedingham Omnibuses in April 1991. Their later histories are

301 Cedrics, Wivenhoe (5/94); Boardabus, Essex (9/94), Stuarts of Carluke (by 8/98) and disposed probably for scrap 2/99
302 Partridge, Hadleigh (?/94) and North Devon Red Bus (8/95), later became First Western National, w/d 5/01 for scrap
303 Maghull Coaches (2/92); Pilkington, Accrington (4/03) and c7/05 to A&P of Barway for spares/scrap [flickr 303 Barway]
304 Supreme, Hadleigh (c9/94); withdrawn by 1/99 presumed for scrap
305 ABC, Southport (8/96); Aintree Coachline/Helms of Eastham (10/00) sold for spares/scrap 1/01
306 Brentwood Coaches (8/96); Dons, Dunmow (9/99) c2004flickr link 306]w/d 2006 and for scrap
307-309 Thornes, Bubwith (8/96) w/d c2004 (307/8), c2007 (309) all scrapped
311/312 w/d by First Western National (ex Red Bus) 7/01 (311), 10/00 (312). 312 used as a store by Western National Preservation group but scrapped 3/08. 311 scrapped 2001 [flickr: 312 with Red Bus]
313 Wilson, Carnwath (4/96) and scrapped after low bridge accident 3/97
314 exported to Saudi Arabia 7/93
315 Philips, Penrhiwceiber 3/97, Shamrock, Pontypridd 9/97, scrapped 4/00
316 stripped for spares by Eastbourne Buses 12/96
317/9/21 scrap from North Birmingham 11/04 (317), 2/04 (319) and 2006 (321)
318/20 to Trailways, Sutton Coldfield (3/05 and 8/03 resp), 318 for spares, 320 for service. Both scrapped in 2007 [Flickr: 320 with Trailways]

317-321 were the inaugural fleet of North Birmingham Busways and all but 319 returned to Blackpool for refurbishment with retrimmed seating and new doors in 1997. 321 came back again in August 2000 for accident repairs and September 2004 for a depot open day

Of the later withdrawals, 322 went to preservation in Yorkshire in December 2008 but its status is unknown. 324 went to Red Kite, St Helens (6/02), Tees Valley, Redcar (10/05), KJB, Lincoln (c2/07) and was scrapped in 2009. 325-327, 329, 330 and 332 all went to Liddells of Cumnock in August 2002 but were all withdrawn by 2007. Most were scrapped, but 327/9 saw further use with Howells of Deri but have since also been scrapped. 331 was briefly owned by LTT (until replaced by sister 334) and it was sold onto Fargo Coaches of Rayne who also purchased 339/40, 343-345 in August 2003 - these all went for scrap though 343 had a brief period in preservation. 328, 338 and 341 went to GM of Bridgend for further service lasting until 2006/7, though 338 later ran with Movereturn of Pontcymmer briefly in 2007. [Flicker: 330 as a store with Liddell]

336, 346-349 went to Ayrways of Ayr in August 2003 and went for scrap after a few years on school services. 337 was preserved initially in Kent and later in Blackpool but was broken up in 2008. Sister 334 is the sole survivor of this batch with LTT.

350 as Streetscene Permanent Way Bus

The ‘final 15’ had a more varied afterlife:

350 became a ‘PW Bus’ with Blackpool Council Streetscene in 2006
351 was used for spares by local preservationists and was stored at LTT’s depot and was later scrapped
352/60/3 were broken up at Inglemere Metals in Blackpool, 355/9 went to Partons of Barnsley
353 was preserved by Chesterfield 123 Group and is restored in the final livery
354/7/61 went to Scotbus, Inverness in November 2006 and they remain in use there.
356 became a playbus in the South West
358 was bought by LTT for spares, with sister 362 saved for preservation
364 is still with BTS.

Ex Fylde 453 in its later guise with Mac Tours in Edinburgh during 2001 (James Millington)

Of the Fylde examples, 442 went to Pilkingtons, Accrington for spares and 443 as a mobile display unit in Cambridgeshire – both have been scrapped. 444 remains in use with a Dance Troupe in Salford; 445 is preserved and restored to Seagull Guise. 451 (DBA227C) briefly ran with Halls of Kennoway and was rescued from scrap by a preservationist but eventually again succumbed to the scrapman eventually. 452 was exported to France but has not been seen recently. 453/5 went to Mac Tours – the former ending up in USA and the latter went for scrap without use despite a repaint. 458, 471 and 479 are preserved by LTT as Lytham 77 and Fylde 71/9 resp, sister 481 was used for spares. 465 ran with Archway of Poulton from 1999 and 466 with Maghull Coaches from 2001 – but were scrapped in 2004 and 2008 resp. 467 has been a static playbus on Anglesey since 1999, while 468 survives on Jersey as a commentary unit after a period with Royal British Legion.

467 in its long term home at Pilot Boat Inn, Dulais, Anglesea (James Millington)

470/8 went for use as a playbuses but only 478 survives (at Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford). 472 saw non psv use in the Manchester area and 475 became a trainer in Dundee – both are now scrapped. 474 became a mobile café in Blackburn but is now stored unused with the same owner.

482 spent several years in Bolton with A-Jay's Dance Troupe

482 ran with A Jays Dance troupe from 2000 to 2006, 489/92 were used as PW Buses from 2000 to 2002 and 2006 resp, the former spending some time at Whyndyke Farms in Blackpool before scrapping. 495 went to EST, South Wales for spares and 496 was preserved locally from 2001-2010 and it is now at Whyndyke Farm.

334 extensively stripped as part of its major restoration in 2006 (James Millington)

Current survivors are thus:
334/58/62 LTT, Preserved (358 spares)
350 Blackpool Council
353 Chesterfield 123 Group
354/7/61 Scotbus, Inverness [flickr 354 at Scotbus]
356 Playbus [flickr link]
364 Blackpool Transport
444 Irlam Royalettes Dance Troupe
445 Preserved
458 LTT Preserved
467 Playbus (Pilot Boat Inn on Anglesea)
468 Jersey (commentary box)
471/9 LTT, Preserved
474 Bedford, Blackburn (disused mobile kitchen)
478 Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford (playbus) [flickr: 478 at Haynes]
496 Whyndyke Farm, Blackpool
Also 452 and 453 may survive in France and USA respectively

In so many ways, 'the last' 364 towards the end of its long career in April 2008.

Swift Spotlight

2011-12-24T11:23:00.003Z

Front and Back - first series Swifts pass at Abingdon Street corner. 548 shows how these buses originally had vents below the windscreen.

Blackpool had standardised on Leyland Titans from 1932 to 1968 and by summer 1969 had a relatively homogeneous fleet - 50 PD2s and 90 PD3s, all but five with Metro Cammell bodywork. The last of streamlined centre loader buses were retired earlier in 1969. One Man operation had not been practised since 1964 when the solitary OMO service 18 and the two specially converted buses had been withdrawn.

Traditionally new buses went on the busiest routes, but with economies needed Blackpool followed the industry route of replacing short crew buses seating 63 with long wheelbase single deckers seating 47 with standing room making up the total capacity. The buses could, of course, be worked with a driver only and this achieved economies and saw the unusual practise of the newest buses on the quietest routes.

Blackpool first inspected a Leeds Corporation Swift in January 1967. It chose to order 15 AEC Swift chassis with bodies by Marshall of Cambridge. This was not the departure from Leyland stable that it may have seemed as Leyland by then owned AEC and the Swift shared a common chassis frame with Leyland's Panther. That said it was something of a departure for the conservative operator. The new buses became 541-555 (PFR541-555H) and the first to arrive was 544 which featured in official publicity and was licensed on 20 October 1969. 545 was licensed on 3 November so its likely that these two were used for driver training. 541-3/6-8 were licensed on 1 December. They entered service on Monday 8 December operating service 7C and 25A between Blackpool and Cleveleys that required four buses between them. Service 9 (Blackpool to College) soon followed taking the requirement up to six buses with 549 licensed from 15 January.

Swifts had short lives by Blackpool standards with most withdrawn at between 10 and 14 years. 546 is in its last year seen here on service 11C which used Swifts on Sundays.

The final seven did not arrive until the spring with 550/1/3/5 licensed on 2 April, 554 on 8 April and 552 on 5 May. On 4 May routes 7 and 7A were converted to OMO operating taking the weekday requirement to ten out of the fifteen buses. On a Sunday Swifts could also be seen on route 1 to Poulton - but the Sunday service came to an end later in the year.

Further Swifts were ordered for the 1971/2 programme. AEC quoted £4,150 per bus and Marshall £4,472 for the bodies. Delivery charges were £20 from AEC and £31 from Marshalls. Deliveries started in September with 558/9 licensed on 17th and 557/60 on 21st. 562 followed on 4 October, 556/61/5 on 6 October and 563/4 on 4 November. No further bus routes were converted until 20 December when routes 6A/B (Grange Park to Midgeland Road using two buses), 15A (Bispham to Hospital with five buses) and 16 (Town Centre to Wordsworth Avenue with 4 buses) were converted.

The second and third batches had higher driving positions and different windscreens compared to 541 to 555. 556 was the first of the 1971 batch of ten seen here in April 1980 on route 12

On Sundays Swift operation also extended to the 11C from December 1971, 6 during 1972, 5 and 23 from February 1973. During 1971 it was decided to replace the remaining PD2s with a batch of 30 further single deckers in 1973/4, though delivery delays meant that the buses did not appear until March 1974! The results of the tendering exercise were interesting:

1st Seddon RU - £10, 845
2nd AEC/Marshall - £11, 038 (28% higher than 556-565!)
3rd Leyland National - £11, 510.50
4th AEC/Willowbrook - £12, 147
5th Metro Scania - £12, 774.05

Note how the AEC/Marshall combination was not the cheapest. It was felt that the Seddon’s floor layout was not to Blackpool’s liking and the fact that 25 Swifts were already owned meant that AEC were awarded the contract as the maintenance savings from standardisation offset the extra purchase cost. The flagship Leyland National and Metro Scania were deemed “not to Blackpool’s specification in numerous ways”.

566-579 were registered ready for 1st April 1974, 580-586 for May 587-589 in July and 590-595 in August. 6 May 1974 saw routes 2 (Blackpool to Poulton), 15 (Blackpool to Staining) and 12 (Blackpool to Airport) converted. Routes 3 (North Shore to Marton) and 26 (Town Centre to South Pier) followed on 3 March 1975. 45 out of 55 Swifts were required for the basic service on routes 1, 2, 3/3A, 6B, 7/7A, 7B/7C, 9, 12, 15, 15A, 16, 25A and 26.

Route 25A was one of the first routes to use Swifts. Here 569 complete with original dash vent and Blackpool's added slip board holder. It is seen here on Dickson Road heading against the current one way flow of traffic in 1979

Service reductions during the 1970s saw the vehicle requirement reduce and new Atlanteans took over duties on the 7/7A and 9. Swifts were then used to convert routes 19 South Pier to Mereside (Feb 1976) and 23/23A (Hospital to South Pier and Midgeland Road) to OPO.

By 1983 the 29 surviving Swifts (and the four Lancets) provided routes:

2/2A (Blackpool to Poulton) 3 buses
3/3A (Cleveleys to Mereside/Midgeland Road) 4 buses which incorporated the 6B and 25A
8 (Blackpool to Whiteholme) 1 bus
16 (Blackpool to Wordsworth Avenue) 3 buses
19 (South Pier to Mereside) 1 bus
23/23A (Hospital to South Pier/Midgeland Road) 6 buses
26 (Town Centre to South Pier) 5 buses
Plus Sunday services 5, 6 and 16B.

The 56th Swift

Blackpool owned a 56th Swift from September 1977 in the form of ex Southampton City Transport 2 (MTR420F) with Stachans body which was purchased for spares and spent three years in Rigby Road yard being cannibalised before sale for scrap in July 1980.

Swift Liveries

The Swifts were new in all-over cream with just the wheels in green. This was distinctive but stark. A handful of buses received the later off-white shades from 1977/8 but in early 1979 581 and 582 were outshopped with green roofs following the introduction of Leyland Atlanteans in green/off white. 558 and 559 followed with a green waistband and this was adopted as the new livery. 581/2 were modified to match during 1981.

The first and last of of the 1969/70 batch 541 - in original livery and 555 in the later livery on withdrawal in 1981

All but 12 Swifts received the new livery - early withdrawals 541-7/50/1/3, 561 and 563 being the exceptions. The programme took four years to complete with 562 and then 588 as the last two to be treated. There is some suggestion that 574 and 575 received further repaints in February 1987 but this is not confirmed. The only other Swift repaint was 577 which received an all-over advert to Latusport Shop in July 1984.

Swift withdrawals
Withdrawals of the Swifts began, surprisingly, with 561 which was parked up in early 1980 after just over eight years use while sister 558 was also parked up with accident damage. Routine withdrawals began, not surprisingly, with the initial batch. 544/5 were delicensed in August 1980 followed by 541-3/7 and 555 in March/April 1981. 552 declared its self redundant on 31 May 1981 while working service 11C when it collided with trees on Regent Road, while youthful 578 at just seven years and six months did likewise due to a collision with the depot doors on 20 September.

Accidents happen. Two 1981 withdrawals were unplanned. 552 on the right collided with trees on Regent Road while 578 hit the depot doors and was withdrawn before its eight birthday

551 - and newer sister 563 were withdrawn in September 1981, 546 came off in December. This left 548-550, 553 and 554 in use during 1982. 549/50 survived until July/August, 553/4 September/October and 548 survived as the last of its batch until April 1983. Four new Dennis Lancets in 1982, new Atlanteans purchased annually and the impact of service reductions saw off the Swifts.

In addition to 548, 1983 dawned with seven of the 1971 batch intact (556/7/9, 560/2/4/5). Inroads were soon made with 557/9/64 off by May and 562 by August along with 567/8 - the first of the final batch to succumb. Withdrawals then slowed with only 566 (of 1974) off in March 1984; 560 (of 1971) in May 1984 and 556 (of 1971) in January 1985.

Swifts repose in Rigby Road Depot in February 1986 - most of these survived after deregulation

As at January 1986 565 of 1971 and 25 of the 30 1974 buses remained in use. 581 had been parked up in December 1985. The purchase of four second hand Leyland Nationals and six ex London Routemasters saw off 579/80/2/93 in February 1986 while 565/9/86 followed in March/April.

Deregulation saw new routes for the Swifts which appeared on the 4 (Blackpool-Mereside), 33 (Cleveleys-Marton Hypermarket) and revised services 2A, 15, 23-25 and the barely changed 26. 590 heads for the Hypermarket (now Asda on Vicarage Lane) on route 33 in October 1987. (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

19 remained in use at deregulation (570-577, 583-585, 587-592 and 595). Buses began to be whittled down with 584 off in November 1986, 592 the following month, 595 in January and 577 in March. 572/91 also reached the end of the road in October 1987. The 11 survivors were to be replaced one for one by a batch of ex Strathclyde Buses Leyland Nationals - which were just five years younger. These entered service between December 1987 and February 1988 and 570/4 came off before the end of the year with 573/6/83 in January leaving 571, 585 and 587-590 into the final month. 571 and 590 are believed to have been the last to run, working route 4 on 29 February with 590 working the final 2300 from Bus Station to Mereside.

574 heads for Bispham on route 15 - normally the preserve of Leyland Nationals as the rota included trips to Preston on routes 180/2 (Donald MacRae see his Victory Guy photo albums for more from his collection)

Swift Disposals

Disposals of the AEC Swifts generally fell into two categorises - pre deregulation sales direct to dealers for scrap and a post deregulation block sale to Wealden Omnibuses from where several buses went for further service.

36 Swifts were sold between 1981 and 1986 (541-569, 578-582, 586 and 593). Dealing with the exceptions first, 554 went for Preservation and 564/7/8 went to Stonier of Tunstall in 1984 via a dealer but did not operate for the firm. They were eventually sent for scrap. 562 went to Blackpool Airport in 1984 for use as part of fire brigade training exercises and was finally destroyed in 1997. 565 went to Lancashire Police for use as an exhibition unit but was out of use by 1989. The remainder generally went to dealers for scrap.

Leaving home - Swift 574 departs Rigby Road for the long journey to Kent in the ownership of Wealden PSV dealership

This left the 19 vehicles that were still in service at deregulation. Progressively withdrawn from service from December 1986 to February 1988 all remained in store at Rigby Road Depot at the start of April 1988. Wealden Omnibuses, a Kent based operator-dealer purchased all 19. It quickly find home for 12 buses -all of which had seen use in the last six months of operation. These were:

570 with Blue Saloon Guildford 5/88 - w/d 8/92. Preserved by 5/96 (Graham Oliver and later LTT) (570 with Blue Saloon front and rear view)
571 with Weybus of Weymouth 5/88 then to Anglewish (Seaside Shuttle) of Portland in 10/88 w/d 5/89 and to Davies of Bridport as spares for 589 in 9/89 then scrapped 2/90
572/4/6 to Ogdens of St Helens 8/88 (572 briefly loaned to East Surrey Buses before the sale) all w/d summer 1989 and scrapped by end of year
573 Wealdens operating arm and loans to East Surrey, sold c3/90 to Raff of Gravesend then scrapped 8/90
583 Davies of Bridport, later back to Wealden and to Knotty, Staffs in 1993 - burnt out 1996 (583 with Knotty)
585 Bonner, Ongar 5/88 then to Raff Gravesend 12/89 and scrapped 7/90
587 to Inverclyde, Greenock 5/88 then by 9/88 to Cumbrae Coaches, Millport w/d 1/90 and scrapped
588 to Inverclyde, Greenock 5/88 w/d 11/88 and auctioned 5/89 scrapped 9/89 588 with Inverclyde
589 with Weybus of Weymouth 5/88 then to Anglewish (Seaside Shuttle) of Portland in 10/88 to Davies of Bridport 9/89, De Vinci's Nightclub, West Bay 5/90, preserved 1997 but not reported since early c2002 Flickr Picture of 589
590 Wealden hire fleet and loaned to East Surrey Buses. Last licensed 10/88

The rest were not fit for further use and Wealden had several moved to Fylde's Squires Gate depot for storage (Wealden used Fylde as a staging post for buses collected from Scotland). 575, 584, 591/2/4/5 all moved to Fylde - as did 583 briefly while at least 572 of the Ogdens trio called in at Fylde on prior to moving to St Helens. The six were gradually disposed of with 591/4 going in November 1988; 575/92 in February 1989, 584 around August 1989 and 595 around August 1990. 595 did move onto Wealden but the rest went straight for scrap.

Preserved Swift 570 and AEC Routemaster 521 displayed together at the 2010 Blackpool Transport open day

Survivors
Most of the survivors after deregulation had short second lives with their new owners. Swifts were an acquired taste and required gentle nurturing. Knotty for example swore by them (others perhaps swore at them) but modified 583 to use a Leopard style air pedestal gear change to replace the automatic electric unit specified by Blackpool. Those wanting a cheap ready to run vehicle tended to be disappointed and at least one operator ceased due to maintenance problems. 1991 started with the following survivors:

554 (PFR554H) -with Wealden who purchased it from Graham Oliver and put it back in to bus service but by this time it had been placed in store. It was bought back by Graham in 1995 and passed to LTT in October 1996. It was restored to original cream in 1998 and but has been stored in recent years awaiting mechanical attention
562 (UFR562K) - shell at Blackpool Airport scrapped 1997
570 (OFR970M) - Blue Saloon, Guildford w/d 1992 but kept in store until sold in 1995. Preserved by Graham Oliver in 1996 it has since passed to LTT.
583 (OFR983M) - Davies of Bridport later to Wealden and to Knotty in 1993. Destroyed by fire in late 1996 as last Blackpool Swift in service
589 (OFR989M) - with Da Vinci's nightclub in Bridport, Dorset and for sale in 1995. Later bought by Graham Oliver for preservation but passed to another owner. Was under restoration, but no recent reports.

Today both 554 and 570 are in store with LTT - 554 requiring and overhaul and 570 - displayed at BTS open day in September 2010 - requiring minor mechanical work prior to recommissioning.

PD3s Depart

2011-12-21T14:45:00.002Z

507 in happer times on route 22A in St. Annes

Tuesday saw the departure of the two former Blackpool PD3s stored in Rigby Road depot for the last three years. First to depart yesterday morning was 507 (HFR507E) which is understood to have gone to Ensignbus for spares. 507's claim to fame arose in February 1985 when it received an approximation of the pre 1933 red and white livery to commemorate the 1985 Tramway Centenary - a livery it just about retains today. It ran alongside its sisters until they were withdrawn in November 1988 but it was kept on for occasional use as a preserved vehicle. While it did put in occasional service duties in 1990/1, it soon saw use as a driver trainer alongside sister bus 516. This became permanent in 1995 but ceased in 1999 shortly before two replacement Atlantean trainers entered service. Sold to Mac Tours in Edinburgh in September 2000 it saw no further active use as it donated a part to another vehicle. Eventually sold to Ensign in 2002 it was stored at their then Stratford upon Avon base. Bought for preservation it then moved back to Blackpool in 2005 for storage but suffered vandalism.

Surprisingly it passed back into Blackpool Transport hands in April 2008 with a view to returning it to use for the 125th Anniversary of the Tramway in 2010. The work involved would have been considerable and the project did not progress.

506 during its PW career in Thornton Gate Yard

Sister bus 506 (HFR506E) was stored alongside it as a possible donor vehicle, but remains in private hands. After withdrawal in 1985 it was used as a Council track workers mess vehicle (aka Permanent Way Bus) from 1986 until 2000 when it was bought by its current owners as a long terms spares donor. It left Rigby Road on Tuesday afternoon and is likely now to be stripped for spares.

Photo Links: 507 Departs 506 Departs

221 returns

2011-12-17T17:35:00.002Z

Excel 221 was noted in service on Line 7 this morning and is believed to have returned to use after repaint on Friday. Sister 210 is now in paint alongside Solo 254.

Back on One Site

2011-12-16T21:58:00.001Z

Withdrawn Atlanteans 444 and 473 sit amongst sisters, the odd Metrorider a coach and a Blackburn Transport school Olympian

On 30 November, withdrawn Olympian 366 was towed out of Jackson's Coaches yard on Burton Road, Marton and was towed to Rigby Road for further storage. For the first time since the absorption of Fylde in 1996, the entire Blackpool Transport fleet was kept on one site. Fylde had been purchased in May 1994 but was fully absorbed into Blackpool Transport in July 1996 but most of its services and vehicles continued to operate from Squires Gate Depot until it closed on 11 April 1999.

With a fleet of 177 buses to accommodated at Rigby Road, Blackpool Transport had demolished the former canteen to make extra space having previously had a fleet of 133 buses prior to the takeover. In addition Blackpool held several other buses in store including six coaches which went for auction in April/May, 14 withdrawn Atlanteans and sundry others. Several withdrawn buses had been stored in Rigby Road yard and these moved to Squires Gate in the week after the closure. Open Toppers 452-455, Atlanteans 465-470, 481, 487, 489 and 492 and single deck Atlanteans 134-137 were kept there, generally in the centre shed. 454 was quickly sold, 134-137 were reinstated in June and 452 and 467 sold from Squires Gate in July. The remainder (453/5, 465/6/8-70, 481, 487/9/92) were removed at the end of July and moved to Blackpool Council Operational Services Department yard at Layton. Some stayed their only briefly - 466/9 returned to use in September 1999, 453, 455, 465, 468, 470 and 481 were all sold by January 2000. This left the three ex Hull buses. 489/92 were sold to Blackpool Council for conversion to Mobile Mess Vehicles for Tramway track workers and remained at Layton until they were converted in Blackpool's workshops and put into use in Autumn 2000 - ironically operating from the same Layton base. This left 487 which remained on site until July 2001 when it returned to Rigby Road to have its engine removed prior to going for scrap.

Atlantean 472 stored amongst Metroriders in June 2004

An alternative storage site had been established in Marton in the spacious yard of Jacksons Coaches. In February 2000 newly withdrawn Atlanteans 466, 469, 475, 478, 479 and 483 moved there along with redundant Optare City Pacers 567/8, 570/1/3/4/6/8/9, 582

Since then most withdrawn buses have been stored at Marton prior to disposal. Several have escaped back into service, including several of the first Atlanteans stored there. 105 buses are known to have been placed in store at Jacksons comprising:

At least 28 East Lancs Atlanteans (324-7 329-331 333/4/6/7/9 340/1 347 350-4 356/7/8 360-4) and possibly 343, 345, 355 and 359
18 ex Fylde Atlanteans (441-445, 466/9, 471-475, 478-480, 483, 495/6)
10 City Pacers 567/8 570/1 573/4 576/8/9/82
21 Metroriders 501 504 506/7/11-13/17 584-596
2 open top Metrobuses 814 and 892
5 Olympians 365-367, 401 and 403
6 Excels 212-214, 216-218
15 Deltas 104, 106-109, 113 115/6, 119, 122/3, 125-127 132/3

Olympians 411 412 413 and 415 await school duties in Jacksons yard in 2008 after takeover from Blackburn Transport

Jacksons was also used as a base for a small number of school contracts operated by Blackburn Transport from September 2000. Typically six or seven buses were kept there, usually second hand Olympians purchased from London or Lothian. Blackburn was taken over by Transdev in 2007 and during summer 2007 they sold the Blackpool operations to Blackpool Transport including seven Olympians which became Blackpool 411 to 417. The staff, unusually for Blackpool Transport, were part timers and they continued to operate out of Jacksons depot though the number of buses soon dropped to four. As staff or contracts ended the operation contracted and by 2010 all service buses were running from Rigby Road once more.

Road Test

2011-12-13T00:18:00.004Z

SN56AWW - an Enviro 400 bodied Dennis Trident loads in Lytham Square on regular demonstrator haunt of the Metro era - Line 11

Bus manufactures tended to supply bus operators with short term demonstration vehicles to tempt them into placing orders - often with little success it seems given the high number of types tried by Blackpool. Various makers buses were inspected in 1921 prior to the introduction of bus services by Blackpool Corporation. Sometimes new innovations were evaluated with diesel engined buses tested in 1933 and an underfloor engined single decker was tried in 1950.

In 1967 Leeds Corporation GUM451D an AEC Swift was inspected prior to the orders for 55 examples which arrived between 1969 and 1975. Attention turned to double deckers and in August 1975 HUP441N - an ECW bodied Bristol VR of Northern General and KBU911P - a GMPTE Leyland Atlantean were tested - the latter at least on route 22. Use of demonstrators really took off in the 1980s as several established models were replaced or upgraded.

Double Deckers

Scania EMJ560Y contrasts with Atlantean 310 in Talbot Road Bus Station in March 1983

As the Atlantean came to the end of its life this prompted new models which operates evaluated. Blackpool tried Scania BR112DH MUT265W owned by Leicester City Transport but used initially as a Scania demonstrator. It ran from 16 to 27 March 1981 on routes 22/22A and featured an East Lancs body and featured a blue livery with yellow, orange and red stripes. A second Scania - EMJ560Y - arrived in March 1983 operated on route 12 between Blackpool and Airport. An early digital destination display featured - as it had on the Fishwicks Nationals. They contrasted with ECW bodied Leyland Olympian A33MRN (owned by Preston Corporation) which ran on route 12 in May 1984 before a period with Fylde. A third Scania came on 21 January 1988 when A1 Service of Ardrossan E200WHS arrived for use on routes 22/22A until 3rd February.

A33MRN is seen with Fylde operating route 11A (despite the blind) having previously run on Blackpool's 12. Although used by Leyland as a demonstrator it was part of the Preston fleet and is now preserved

Perhaps the most unusual demonstrator was Routemaster RM1583 which arrived in January 1986 to evaluate the type and became the first of six purchased in the spring.

A handful of other double deckers visited on loan over the years. East Staffs Dennis Dominator FBF129T visited in August 1979 while Bus and Coach Council events saw proportionally liveried West Midlands Metrobus POG515Y and Greater Manchester Olympian B36PJA in use in September 1982 and September 1984 respectively - the latter saw two weeks service on crew routes 14 and 22. Then in September 1988 South Yorkshire Transport B361HDT - another Dennis Dominator - visited for a week to demonstrate their split step entrance layout, SYT enjoyed the delights of Blackpool Olympian 367 (UWW15X) in exchange.

Double decker demonstrators didn't bear fruit for many years with just a solitary batch of Leyland Olympians purchased in 1989 after the last Atlanteans arrived in 1984. 1994 was to see a further small batch of Olympians arrive but not before two demonstrators visited in 1993. March saw the visit of K170FYG an Optare Spectra on a DAF chassis - something of a double deck Delta - while L8YCL was an Alexander Royale bodied Volvo Olympian from Yorkshire Coastliner which stayed for a fortnight in December.

In the low floor era there have been four double deck demonstrators. January 2000 saw V929FMS - an Alexander bodied Dennis Trident evaluated, followed by X645RDA, an East Lancs bodied Volvo B7. Both influenced the eventual order as the 2002-2006 delivery featured East Lancs bodies on Dennis Trident chassis. Since then Alexander Dennis has supplied two Enviro 400 bodied Trident demonstrators - SN56AWW in June 2007 and SN59AWX in August 2010. The former normally ran on route 11, the latter on the 14.

Single Deckers

National GCK430W was one of five Mark 2s evaluated between 1980 and 1988

Leyland's National was a joint venture with the National Bus Company and didn't live up to ambitious targets set by Leyland. Its makers were persistent in attempting to capture new markets. Blackpool tried demonstrator RRM128M for a few days in June 1975. No orders were forthcoming, partly because Blackpool chose to focus on double deckers for future orders having stocked up on AEC Swifts.

The new Mark 2 National made its first appearance with Blackpool in October 1980 when the first of no less than five arrived on loan - prompting an order for four in 1984 just prior to the end of production - providing that persistence is sometimes worthwhile. Leyland had an arrangement with Fishwick to use new Nationals intended for its operation as demonstrators and WRN413V spent a couple of weeks mainly on route 26 in October 1980, followed by GCK430W in March/April 1981 which primarily ran on the 2/2A. 1983 saw visits from two National 2s from the Halton Transport fleet - EWM630Y in April and CKC929X in May - the former normally operating on the 2/2A but the latter was not used. The final demonstrator (South Wales Transport KEP829X) visited in February 1988 to demonstrate its kneeling suspension which had been retrofitted by its owner to reduce step heights. It spent a few days on route 3. Quite surprising was the demonstration of GMB387T - a 1979 built mark1 National refitted with Gardner engine by Crosville. This was to test the suitability of the repower package for Blackpool who duly acquired four similarly modified buses from the Crosville fleet. Eventually 19 Nationals were owned - 15 purchased second hand - which is poor return from no less than seven demonstrators!

Ipswich Falcon YDX100Y poses alongside typical Blackpool bus stop infrastructure on Newton Drive while operating route 2.

The National 2s were measured against other single decker market offerings. Dennis arranged for two of its Gardner engine Falcons to visit Blackpool with Ipswich YDX100Y arriving in June 1983, followed by TWJ341Y from Chesterfield in July. Prior to this a Duple bodied Leyland Tiger KUS244Y was borrowed from Hutchinson of Overtown, Scotland in May. All three ran on routes 2/2A to Poulton.

Post Deregulation Single Deckers

Delta G785PWL was one of two tested in 1989 prior to the order for eight buses for 1990 delivery

Leyland's successor to the National - the Lynx was first seen in April 1987 when D573LSJ of AA Motor Services but it failed after a few days. Leyland's Lynx demonstrator D634BBV paid a visit in August 1987 but the desire to replace the second hand Nationals led to a beauty parade of single deckers in 1989 operating mainly on routes 3/3A (Bispham-Mereside) with evening duties on the 12 to Squires Gate. Optare's stylish Delta was first with F792DWT visting in July 1989 and alternative spec G785PWL in August and November. Leyland Lynx F74DCW which carried West Midlands Travel colours (but was not their's) arrived in September and similar F210YHG of Preston Bus in November. The final contender was Duple bodied Dennis Dart G541JBV which visited at the start of November. The result was an order for eight Deltas for 1990 delivery.

August 1990 saw the inspection of H220TCP - an Ikarus bodied DAF SB220 (the same chassis as the Delta) while a third Delta demonstrator arrived in February 1991 as G837LWR which covered for new Delta 116 which was representing Optare at the launch event for their new Vecta single decker. The Vecta (a shorter single decker on the MAN chassis) was tried in the form of H846UUA in May 1991 and M957VMY in August 1995.

Low Floor Single Deckers

Excel P447SWX was one of several provided by Optare while it repaired faults on the pre-production batch 201-208

Blackpool was an early conversion to the low floor bus, buying the first Excels in 1996. It didn't precede this with demonstrators - and judging by the performance of the first Excels it might have regretted this. Several Excel demonstrators later appeared, mainly to cover rectification work for the Blackpool batch. N330EUG arrived in February 1998 and lasted until May sustaining accident damage towards the end of its stay.
R98HUA visited briefly in July 1998 while P446SWX accompanied N330EUG in February 1998. P447SWX spent July to September 1998 on hire. In February 2001, damaged Excel 210 was deputised for with T790KNW which gave Blackpool example of the Mercedes engined variant. Finally in May 2003 Mark 2 Excel YA02YRP operated alongside the native examples on Line 5. With six demonstrators, the Excel gave the National a run for its money.

Route 26 saw several demonstrators including minibuses and big buses over the years. This is R739TMO a Super Pointer Dart.

Other low floor demonstrators included P10LPG, a gas powered DAF SB220 with Plaxton Prestige bodywork which ran on route 26 in October/November 1997. The same service saw R739TMO - a Dennis Dart SLF with Plaxton bodywork in August 1998.

The short lived East Lancs Esteem body on the Scania was evaluated in December 2006 (YN06TGE)

In addition to the Excel 2, 2003 saw BX03BKU - a Wright bodied Volvo B7 used on Line 11 in August. From 2005 to 2009 a procession of potential Delta replacements visited Blackpool for evaluation - without luck as Blackpool eventually settled for the Plaxton bodied Volvo B7 in 2010 because of a favourable deal. December 2005 saw the Enviro 300 SN54HXG evaluated on Line 7. June 2006 saw the first of two Optare Tempos YJ55BLX operate on Line 11 which now became the test ground for single deck demonstrators. Sister YJ06FZK replaced its sister at the end of the month and stayed into July.

Tempo YJ55BLX operating Line 11 in Bispham

Mercedes Citaro BX05UVX visited in early November 2006, followed by MCV Evolution bodied MAN AE06OPG later in the month, YN06TGE - an East Lancs bodied Scania 230UB in December. January 207 saw SN56AYB a Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 completed the quintet in January 2007. August 2007 saw Wright bodied Volvo B7 BX07AXJ tested some time before five similar buses were purchased from Anglian Buses in 2010. A second Citaro (BN09FWS) was tested in September 2009 also on Line 11.

The MCV Evolution AE06OPG in Lytham Square in November 2006

Minibuses

D898NUA on arrival in August 1987 in demonstrator guise before purchase when it became Handybus liveried 566

Blackpool did not road test the market prior to adopting the Optare City Pacer but did make use of a few demonstrators later. Its second batch of City Pacers were delayed so demonstrators D854MUA and D898NUA were supplied by Optare in August 1987 and later purchased as 565/6. When service 26 started at the beginning of September, sister D81NWW was also on short term hire. A further City Pacer demonstrator arrived in July 1988 as E749CWT while January 1989 saw F934AWW on loan. The latter returned in December 1989 having been purchased as 583.

E749CWT spent time on hire in July 1988

Other makers included Iveco with Carlyle bodied E485ONX in December 1987, followed by an unidentified Star Rider Optare's Mercedes Benz based longer minibus later in the month. A further Star Rider E216UWT visited in July 1988. PMT Ami bodied Merecedes G495FFA was reported on hire on routes 9 and 26 in July 1990 and also visited in November when it ran on the 26. Optare's Metrorider H844UUA was used on the 26 in May 1991 before a period with Fylde.

September 1993 saw London Buses Dennis Dart K112SRH evaluated on route 26. Optare's Metrorider had been the preferred choice for replacing City Pacers and ex Fylde Renaults after the success of seed vehicle 584 (M924TYG) in summer 1995. A long wheelbase demonstrator P507NWU operated on routes 2/2A/2B in January 1997 but the next order was for more short wheelbase examples. In March 1999 Optare's new low floor Solo minibus S794XUG spent a few weeks on route 26 and this lead to orders for 57 examples between 2000 and 2009. A second demonstrator YJ56APY ran on the 2C in January 2007.

Other visitors have been SN03LGA - a Mini Pointer Dart which ran on Line 5 in November 2003 and MX60GXB a Wright Streetlite which spent some time in March 2011 operating service 10 (see here)

Very few of these loans have generated orders, but they continue to generate interest amongst enthusiasts.

16 November 2006 saw the first Citaro demonstrator (BX05UVZ)

BX07AZJ - a Wright bodied Volvo leaving Starr Gate on Line 11 in August 2007

Enviro 300 SN54HXG operating Line 7 in St. Annes on 21 December 2005

More Tridents and Christmas services

2011-12-10T17:27:00.001Z

Two Isle of Man Tridents have been noted at Bus and Coach World in Blackburn, one confirmed as 51 (EMN51Y) and the other is believed to be 48 (EMN48Y).

Blackpool Transport Boxing Day and New Year's Day timetables are now out and appear similar to last year save for the operation of service 1 through from Starr Gate to Cleveleys rather than last year's split operation. The services comprise:

1 Starr Gate to Cleveleys every 30 minutes (4 buses)
5 Hospital to Halfway House, hourly (2 buses)
7 Cleveleys to Lytham hourly (2 buses)
9 Blackpool to Cleveleys every 30 minutes (3 buses)
11 St. Annes to Grange Park every 60 minutes (2 buses)
14 Mereside to Fleetwood every 30 minutes (5 buses)

343 or is it 131?

2011-12-02T13:54:00.001Z

Ex Isle of Man Dennis Trident 343 was noted at Rigby Road today displaying registration H1FBT! This was the cherished plate carried by Delta 131 (new as Fylde 1) and held on retention after it was burnt out in 2004.

Excel 222 has returned to use following repaint as has Solo 253. Excel 221 is the current paint shop project. Olympian 406 has been withdrawn following accident damage.